Fortunately for me, the market for pistols is set by the majority of collectors who place the highest value on condition, preferring pistols that appear nearly unused. I, on the other hand, am most interested in an item that has a history of its use written on it. This allows me to occasionally acquire at a reasonable price something in lesser condition that “speaks volumes” about where it has been and what it has experienced. Thanks to the graciousness of Bob Simpson, I am able to present here a case in point.
The Facts
It is a 1914 DWM Commercial Army P08, serial number 71857. I am not very familiar with Imperial Lugers but I understand these are rather rare. On p. 62 of Central Powers Pistols, Jan Still states that some 1908 and 1914 commercial P08s were diverted to military service prior to the beginning of WWI. He notes that only thirteen 1914s have been reported. This will make fourteen.
For those interested in condition, this gun has been graded as having about 86% blue and 10% straw remaining with a very good bore and grips. It has some pitting on the left side of the barrel, the takedown lever and side plate, the left and right sides of the frame, the safety lever and the front and rear grip straps. Except for the magazine and the firing pin which are unmarked, it is all matching. The side plate and takedown lever are stamped
57 in both military and commercial style. The lower receiver is stamped
57 on the lug and
18 before it. All components of the toggle train, including the rear axle, are stamped
57 as are the sear bar, safety arm and insides of the grip panels. There is no “spur” in the main spring housing.
There are horizontal
C/N commercial firing proof stamps on the left side of the receiver, the breechblock and the middle link of the toggle train. The right side of the receiver has
C/S,
C/E,
C/S military acceptance stamps. This sequence is apparently unknown on Army commercials. According to Still, all others are reported to have
C/X,
C/X,
C/X stamps. This is clearly an exception. There are a few reported 1913, 1914 and 1915 dated military P08s with the S, E, S sequence (
http://luger.gunboards.com/showthread.php?t=8129). The presence of commercial instead of the Army firing proof stamps is also a rarity.
The barrel is a replacement with a small and a larger
E/6 (Simson) acceptance stamp, a Berlin police armory
PTV/E firing proof stamp and the numeral
5 stamped on the bottom. It has the bore measurement
8,82 stamped as well. There is no serial number on the barrel.
The pistol had Schiwy and Walther safeties installed. The Schiwy (sear) safety has been removed and the Walther (magazine) safety has been deactivated.
The front grip strap has the Prussian police marking
LS.T.11., signifying P08 number 11 of the
Landjägereischule at Trier. This is the only example of a marking from this school that I am aware of. The stamping has a halo.
The magazine is a shiny (chromed?) tube with an unmarked wood base. The sides of the base are strangely and amateurishly dished. This probably was someone’s idea of a “proper” magazine for this gun. There is no way that an original wood base mag could have survived the 30+ years of the service life of this pistol.
The Story
There is a lot of history evident in the above features. Here is my interpretation. My knowledge of Imperial-era Lugers is quite limited; hopefully, others can correct or add to this story.
Initially destined for the commercial market, this pistol was diverted for military use about 1913-14. Apparently, it already had been commercially proofed, so the Army added only acceptance stamps and military-style serial numbering. It almost certainly saw wartime service, perhaps as a privately purchased officer’s sidearm.
Following WWI, it did not receive the 1920 government property stamp, suggesting it was not part of an official government inventory. This would be consistent with it having been privately purchased.
The gun is rather coy about its ownership and whereabouts during the decade of the 1920s. It found its way into police service, perhaps as a result of being the private property of a former Army officer who became a policeman after the war. In about 1930-31, it was reworked (rebarreled and refinished) by the armory of the
Polizeischule für Technik und Verkehr (PTV) in Berlin and was issued to the Landjägerei school in Trier. The rework date can be pinned down fairly accurately. The halo around the police marking indicates it was stamped after the gun was reworked. The Trier school did not open until 1931 and the marking would have been
LST.11. (no intermediate period) if had been issued after the February 1932 marking order (HWIS, Chapters 4 & 12). The barrel probably had been manufactured by Simson in 1925 (the number 5 on the bottom) and purchased by the PTV. This rework is very similar to that performed by the PTV in 1929-30 on former Landjägerei LP08s for reissue to various police units (
http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthread.php?t=20449).
The unnumbered firing pin is slotted and the rear toggle axle is numbered. It is my understanding that these features were introduced about 1932. If so, they would not likely have been part of the earlier rework. In conformance with the directive of August 1933, the pistol was fitted with Schiwy and Walther safeties, probably in 1934. The firing pin may have been slotted or replaced and the axle numbered at this time or later.
Many of the P08s belonging to police schools were transferred to the military in the mid-1930s, most of them before being fitted with Schiwy and Walther safeties (HWIS, Chapter 12). This gun probably was transferred somewhat later. While the Walther safety may have been deactivated while it was still in the hands of the police, the Schiwy safety probably was removed after it was transferred to the military which did not use these devices.
The pistol likely saw military service during WWII. It would be great if it had capture papers but this is where the story ends.
If this pistol had remained in the same condition as it was originally issued, it certainly would be worth many times what I paid for it but this story would have ended with the first paragraph. However, thanks to the reworking, the police marking and other modifications, it was affordable and quite talkative.