[Ron Wood]

That is a mystery. Supposedly imported Lugers required a GERMANY export stamp. The 1900 US Test Trials Lugers were exempt from this requirement because it was a government contract. However, there are observed and reported Model 1900 Lugers in the approximate 6000 to 8000 serial number range that do not bear this GERMANY stamp. Only 1000 of these were purchased by the US Government, hence the question: How did the other 1000 Lugers get into the US without the required export stamp? A corollary to this question is: Which of these 2000 unstamped Lugers were part of the US Government contract? And that is what gives rise to the statement that only those Lugers included in the Bannerman purchase have the necessary provenance to be absolutely declared US Test Trials Lugers. The closer the proximity of the serial number of an American Eagle Luger that is not stamped Germany to the serial number range of 6000 to 7200, the more likely it is to have been a Test Luger, but that is not a positive endorsement.