I can't believe that we are discussing this holster yet again, I thought this issue was put to rest years ago on Jan Stills forum. To be brief, the El Paso made reproductions have coarser stitching than the originals. You can test this for yourselves by counting the stitches on the rounded end of the belt loop on the back of the holster, the repros (and Eric's) have 24 stitches, the originals have 33 or 34.
The issue of provenance has not yet been raised, if I'm not mistaken Eric purchased this holster from the late Ralph Shattuck. Eric, you are not alone, most long time collectors bought fakes from him, I know I did. My first Navy Luger came from Shattuck, and yes, it was a fake. It's what motivated me to embark on the Navy List project!
Norm
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