Aaron,
I have posed a similar question. It is beginning to appear that the characteristics of Commercial Luger magazines rest on conventional wisdom, which says that 1900 mags are unmarked, and Alphabet Commercial mags are stamped GERMANY--positively enough to be characteristic.
I have not seen any documentation for any of this.
The problem is compounded by the existence of magazines marked only with five digits, a circumstance I have begun to consider in my database.
Don Rousseau, an advanced collector whose Lugers are pictured in Jan Still's books, told me one day that "early" Luger magazines are characterized by a brushed finish. He didn't relate when in the Luger timeline this changed to a flat nickeled finish, but since I have been paying attention I have noted -a lot- of brushed-nickel magazines. I haven't had the opportunity to note whether GERMANY marked mags are brushed or not.
--Dwight
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