After reviewing this thread four things occur to me.
1. Luger military serial numbering is four digits and a letter suffix (or no suffix, in the case of the first 9,999 pistols). We should be -deeply- suspicious of any deviation, and conservative in weaving speculative webs to justify it.
2. We have only seen the side-frame number on the photographs of the Luger in question. Without seeing the front frame and barrel numbers, all commentary is most highly speculative.
3. Just because the guns are numbered in a 9,999 numbered sequence does not mean that the guns were manufactured in "blocks" of these numbers. There is no reason to suspect that production was not continuous, with simple changing of the serial number dies as necessary.
4. It would be useful to know the mechanism by which the serial numbers were actually stamped on the guns. One correspondent has speculated the use of an incremental-numbering wheel, along with corresponding mistakes in operation. Is there any evidence of the use of such a device?
Alternative speculation: that the serial numbers were applied by placing individual number stamps by hand in a holder, thence stamped on the gun. Such a holder might hold only four numbers (or blank dies in the cases of numbers less than 1,000). Is there any evidence for such a method?
Perchance, does anyone here actually -know- how serial numbers were stamped on Lugers?
I find it interesting to observe that -none- of the numbers on my S/42 are stamped evenly.
--Dwight
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