Re: The .45 Cal Luger
Hugh,
After viewing the .45 Cal. Luger at Norton Gallery in person, I don't think that there can be any doubt that the pistol is authentic. The technology to fake a pistol of this complexity simply did not exist at the time this pistol first became known. You only have to look at the time it has taken to get the Krause copy out using state of the art CNC equipment to fully appreciate the original pistol and the skill it took to make it. The pistol that was originally purchased by Sidney Aberman from Springfield Armory and was featured in G&A Magazine had no proofs just as the 1900 Trials pistols were not proofed, but the pistol in Norton Gallery reportedly has a C/N proof which would rule out any assumption that the pistol was actually a trials pistol.
In the G&A article the pistol is simply referred to as "pistol number 2" and not serial no. 2, but I do not recall any mention of the magazine marking in the article.
As I have stated previously, I believe that there can be little doubt that DWM was in the process of making additional pistols while negotiations were in progress for the full 200 pistols. When DWM backed out of negotiations, the remaining pistol or pistols could have remained in inventory until sold at a later date as evidenced by the C/N proof on the Norton pistol.
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