[Ron Wood]

I agree in part with Tom’s (Lugerdoc) comments, but not completely. The “flaming bomb” marking is distinct from a “Taurus” zodiac symbol…I would have to search for images of examples of each, but that is beside the point. The mark is not a U.S. ordnance mark so should not be given any association with U.S. marking, it is pure and simple, a DWM inspector’s mark.

The book "1900 Luger, US test trials " by Michael Reese II, as posted by Tom is a seminal work with respect to the U.S. Test Trial Lugers. It documents what was known at the time of its publication, and is indeed a super reference. However, there have been follow-on observations of these unique Lugers associated with their procurement for the U.S. Test Trials. I have attempted to add on to Reese’s research, the results of which were published as “Appendix A” in Jan Still’s “Central Powers Pistols”.

From observed serial numbers, there were approximately 2000 American Eagle Lugers produced in the 59xx-79xx range without a GERMANY export stamp. Of these, only 1000 were procured by the US Army for field testing. That leaves 1000 that were imported without the requisite export stamp. It remains a mystery of how this extra 1000 made it through US customs. Most likely it was a clever maneuver by Hans Tauscher to pre-position guns for further testing and/or a follow-on purchase contract. There is no recorded evidence that any of these additional 1000 guns were actually used to replace damaged/defective Test Trial guns. In fact, the predominant evidence indicates that some of the original 1000 purchased pieces were cannibalized by the Army to maintain a workable, functioning inventory. The same thing applies to the 780 Test Trial Lugers declared as surplus by the Army and purchased by Francis Bannerman in 1910. Bannerman likewise assembled workable pieces from the acquired lot to produce complete guns for sale.

There were 50 of the original 1000 contract pieces returned to DWM in trade for 50 “Cartridge Counter” guns in 9mm. The 50 Test Eagles traded in for Cartridge Counters were shipped by the Army directly to A.H. Funke, a New York dealer, by Hans Tauscher's explicit instruction. There is no record of any other of the Test guns being returned to DWM or Hans Tauscher for replacement.