Kyrie,
Great synopsis of how to evaluate a luger.
Plus just a couple observations/comments:
1- Proofing :
"Paramount of these problems is the absence of other, required, firing proofs. German proof law, and Mauser factory common practice when using the C/U firing proof, was to apply the firing proof to all three of the components that contributed to a sealed bore during firing (e.g. the barrel, the barrel extension, and the breech block)."
This convention is not correct for the 1939 Mauser Banner pistol, Mauser proof marked only:
-left side of chamber- present
-left side of breech block- can't be seen- but may be present- or a replacement , thus originality is unknown.
I lean toward a replacement, since the block and striker are both numbered "29" and in the same font- tough to explain the missing C/U
-front of front sight base- not shown
No other proof marks- ref. "The Mauser Parabellum" , p 289.
My own 1939 Banner(police) confirms the above marking convention- and has an additional Eagle/F on the right chamber indicating police acceptance, which a straight commercial Banner does not and should not have.
-Matching of small parts
- EG matching would be quite noticeable, either due to strike through or refinishing, this luger has obviously not been refinished- all the parts show
the same "lack" of finish and wear.
I have added a few pictures of EG reworks below.
-The grips are numbered on the inside with the larger size "29" of Mauser, for the grips to survive "matching' to the pistol is very unlikely in an EG rework, IMO.
As usual the devil is in the details; but I come down of the side of highly likely original and not an assembly by EG.
Kyrie has reached the opposite conclusion, which just shows that two guys can look at the same pistol and reach two different conclusions.
It should make a great shooter though, with a little "extra" interest due to the Mauser banner!
