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Big Norm · 03-06-2007, 02:42 AM

George,
you may have a valid point regarding the small cap under the barrel. I have examined all my Erfurt artilleries, but none of them have a small cap to begin with. So there was no help there. I then went quickly through all my books and it doesn't appear that any pictures of Lugers show the serial number under the barrel. There are plenty of pictures of the serial numbers on the frame though. Some quick reading of the literature does not seem to address the issue at all.

Then I took a quick sip of my coffee and started glancing at other areas in my books and I came across something that may very well tip the scale towards what you said. In Jan Stills "Imperial Lugers", pages 29 and 30, these spec drawings show a serial number under the barrel and on the frame. In these drawings, there is a small cap on the frame but a small cap is not shown under the barrel. Both drawings, otherwise, show the same serial numbers, so something might be being shown, but not being said. At least in this book but maybe in the actual German military specs.

The small write up at the bottom of these two pages does suggest that the government royal arsenal in Erfurt did adhere to PROOF MARK specs whereas the private at DWM did not. This COULD possibly explain why the DWM barrels contained the small cap under the barrel while the Erfurt arsenal did not. I say COULD because the write up in Stills book was really addressing proof marks and not serial numbers. But you are looking good.

I based my assumption that this barrel was replaced on the missing small cap under the barrel (a military Luger occurance only attibuted to Erfurt) and on my feeling that this barrel was subsequently reblued. I also thought that a pin under the rear sight was recently re miter blued. My assuptions were based on the pictures supplied to GunBroker by the seller. Since you have personally seen this Luger, I agree that your physical inspection would be better than photographs any day. But I have to ask anyway on a personal basis, do you think that this barrel was not reblued and that that my above mentioned pin under the rear sight was not re-mitered? If so then I will have to email gunBroker a retraction of my complaint to them and to apologize to the members of this forum.
Big Norm

03-06-2007, 02:42 AM	#5
Big Norm RIP Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: SE Michigan Posts: 1,864 Thanks: 1 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts	George, you may have a valid point regarding the small cap under the barrel. I have examined all my Erfurt artilleries, but none of them have a small cap to begin with. So there was no help there. I then went quickly through all my books and it doesn't appear that any pictures of Lugers show the serial number under the barrel. There are plenty of pictures of the serial numbers on the frame though. Some quick reading of the literature does not seem to address the issue at all. Then I took a quick sip of my coffee and started glancing at other areas in my books and I came across something that may very well tip the scale towards what you said. In Jan Stills "Imperial Lugers", pages 29 and 30, these spec drawings show a serial number under the barrel and on the frame. In these drawings, there is a small cap on the frame but a small cap is not shown under the barrel. Both drawings, otherwise, show the same serial numbers, so something might be being shown, but not being said. At least in this book but maybe in the actual German military specs. The small write up at the bottom of these two pages does suggest that the government royal arsenal in Erfurt did adhere to PROOF MARK specs whereas the private at DWM did not. This COULD possibly explain why the DWM barrels contained the small cap under the barrel while the Erfurt arsenal did not. I say COULD because the write up in Stills book was really addressing proof marks and not serial numbers. But you are looking good. I based my assumption that this barrel was replaced on the missing small cap under the barrel (a military Luger occurance only attibuted to Erfurt) and on my feeling that this barrel was subsequently reblued. I also thought that a pin under the rear sight was recently re miter blued. My assuptions were based on the pictures supplied to GunBroker by the seller. Since you have personally seen this Luger, I agree that your physical inspection would be better than photographs any day. But I have to ask anyway on a personal basis, do you think that this barrel was not reblued and that that my above mentioned pin under the rear sight was not re-mitered? If so then I will have to email gunBroker a retraction of my complaint to them and to apologize to the members of this forum. Big Norm