Historybuffguy,
Congratulations on finding such a superb Luger for $400 - you definitely stole that Luger!
With the highest degree of respect for my friend Ron, all the information that he provided is correct, but there is no need to have it inspected by an expert - it appears absolutely genuine according to the images and it has very good 'comfort zones' (consistency). A good Luger will speak for itself! I would be delighted to give you an expert opinion considering that I have strong French blood in me!
For your information, I recently heard of another 1906 French Commercial in Europe serial #51537 and the fact that your pistol is a few thousand serial numbers higher is of no concern. There is no rule written in stone that states that these pistols must be in a narrow serial range and it is very probable that these Lugers were delivered to the French company on an order basis and, therefore, not included in a defined serial range.
By reason of the fact these Lugers were ordered from DWM in Germany by 'Manfacture Francaise d'Armes & Cycles de Saint-Etianne', the marking on the barrel was rolled on after the pistol was finished and applied in France. In some cases, the number '172-72' will appear under the barrel which is the gauge of the barrel.
Interestingly, there is an earlier French model with a 'Fleur-de-Lis' chamber logo which falls around the 25000-26000 serial range which is rarer than the 1906 model - find one of those and you can ask double the price! On the other hand, it would be great to own the pair.
My advise is to wait and find a good home for this Luger which will satisfy your wallet or simply keep it considering the very small investment.
Well done,
Albert Beliard
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