The side plate looks pretty well rounded, numbers may indeed have been buffed off.
The frame is steel alloy, just like the rest. Sometimes the finish erodes at different rates on different parts due to slightly different metallurgy or heat treating,
I believe its year manufacture could be narrowed down a little by serial number, but since they can repeat, this would likely not give a definitive answer.
The extent it could be cleaned up would be up to you entirely, since it is a shooter; with one this corroded, most collectible value is gone. All-matching except mag is good, but the external finish will never be like new and original again. Some guys here will say it should be cleaned enough to stabilize it, and less is more. It may also be a candidate for restoration; but this would be done only to make it look great again, as you'd likely never close the gap when selling to recoup the investment. Another forum member posted pics of a restoration he's doing himself, raw and from scratch, on his grandpa's Luger. It also was pitted and weary looking, and he's done a fine job spiffing it up and persuading it to fire well--and D.I.Y. can be very economical.
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