Archie,
Thanks for the opportunity to explore a commonly misunderstood aspect of Luger collecting.
Why the DWM logo was removed is a puzzle with no answer. I think some people might speculate on it, to me it is just one of those imponderables which occasionally crop up when the subject is Lugers. There is no way to know when this was done, it is not necessarily the result of the original rework (the same goes for the removal of the Imperial army proofs).
I'm not sure that this gun rises to the level of "proving" any particular theory. It is an example to be kept in mind when considering the subjects of commercial and commercial-rework Lugers.
This Luger does not relate to the production of "new" 1920 Commercials (better to call them Alphabet Commercials), except to act as an example of how the Alphabet Commercials were not made. Since it is not a newly-produced gun and its serial number is its original Imperial army production number, it does not properly belong in the commercial database at all. It exemplifies its category of commercial rework in a particularly interesting fashion.
As you note, Alphabet Commercial Lugers are not found with their serial numbers on the left receiver at all. In fact, some of these guns which were converted to Police use have a serial number added there later, but they also have a number of other characteristics which this gun and strictly commercial pistols do not share.
Your summation is essentially correct. I would answer that this pistol likely saw actin in WWI, but its later commercial status and caliber means that it served no formal use in WWII. There was no requirement for the pre-existing military marks to be removed. I wouldn't say that the barrel "had" to be replaced in the US, it is just as likely that it was a choice made by the guns owner.
Just how long is this barrell, anyway?
--Dwight
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