...and a cautionary tale.
At this weekend's Portland Gun Show (a 2 1/2-day affair) a guy entered the hall and walked around carrying a Luger in a shoulder holster. The Luger folks who were there (not the full complement of 'Usual Suspects') told me about it in their turn--"It was a 1900 Eagle, a real wreck of a gun"..."It was in such bad shape that I wouldn't pay $200 for it"..."I wouldn't even buy it for parts"...were some of the comments I heard.
I had an inpired thought about this gun and did some research, and finally made contact with him and got a look at it. It was a wreck all right, but I looked at the serial numbers and, lo and behold, it was a 1900AE Test Eagle, smack in the middle of the core range and the Bannerman series--no question.
And herein lieth the lesson. This guy walked around for -two days- without anyone giving the gun any more than a cursory look--they saw its condition and passed it off without even -looking- at the serial number. It was my good fortune that this was the case, but every one of those folks--every one of us--should remember that its the details which make a Luger valuable, and even the meanest example could be the treasure of the day.
The Luger itself--Test Eagle serial# 6761--is truly a hard case. The grips are matching-numbered, but the breechblock has been replaced and the locking lug is a bubba-built replacement. (Actually the gun is missing the recoil spring and stirrup as well, much less of an annoyance because I have a spare original spring...)
The gun was reblued at one time in its life--the polished-out safety area has been blued over--but it now has very little finish of any kind. The photos below actually look better than the gun itself.
I never actually expected to ever own a Test Eagle--despite its condition, it made my weekend.
--Dwight