Ed,
I tend to agree about the impact on sales values. Anything departing from "normal" is suspect.
I bought this from a dealer that had it on consignment. This belonged to the consigner's father who is deceased. I've asked him to check with the last owner to find any type of documentation that might go with the gun. Bring back papers, licenses, etc... It's a shot at trying to determine an early date that reflects the serial number.
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Jeffery,
As I'm new to this, I feel at risk to those that would improperly modify a Luger. When I bought this one, I hadn't seen the over-stamping in the pictures. The reference books and our senses are our only defense.
It was actually good to be able to make use of the reference so soon.
Just last month I saw first hand how Lugers are mis-represented. At our local Raleigh gunshow, a seller showed up with some very high priced guns. Each one of them had been messed with, including refinishing and an improper re-crown (it was squared). When I asked how to get in touch with him after I'd had a chance to check my reference books, he wouldn't share contact information. He said he was "visiting from California and returning the next day..."
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I just did the "needle in a haystack" calculation. Assuming all serial numbers in the ranges were used (and all of them survived the war), here are the numbers.
The frame is rust blued, highly polished, and has a 130mm (Mauser extended) length - the ears are reinforced without the hump.
This frame could only appear on "K", "G" and 1936 date Lugers. Toward the end of 1936 production, the polishing wasn't as complete, and in early 1937 the transition to Salt Blue had taken place.
There are 3 to 9 frames that could have a "*308" or "*308a" ending serial number in the "K" date period, with the last 6 occurring in the transition to "G" dates.
The "G" date and 1936 date range is from 352a to 6438q.
There are 154 frames in these years that could have a "*308a" through "*308q" ending serial number, and less if you eliminate those that were not highly polished.
So, at most, there could be 156 frames that could have been used to force match to the receiver. 148,750 Lugers were manufactured in the "K" "G" and 1936 years. That is about .1 percent (just over 1 out of a thousand) that could have been candidates.
A fair percentage of the early Lugers manufactured with a serial number ending in "*308*" were destroyed and lost during the war - particularly during the Stalingrad campaign.
I guess that the statistics say unlikely, yet they lie since all you'd have to do is come across the right one...
Marc
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