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drbuster · 10-02-2005, 12:15 AM

This issue can become very foggy. You may have owned a Luger for 50 years and swear that the grips came with it from the factory. Having the last two digits (or the entire serial number) stamped inside the grip reinforces that feeling, but this can be faked. Sometimes one sees a worn Luger with fresh grips bearing high sharp diamonds, that is easy. The best I have been able to tell: Early lugers, 1900-1906 bore the serial numbers inside; 1908 commercials, militaries to 1912 (1913?) did not; post WW1 were all over the place; Simson's did, especially Lugers made by them; early Mauser Lugers did, but later ones didn't, especially with plastic grips, many police Mauser banners had only waffenampts stamped inside. These observations are stated only as a baseline, I'm sure many many exceptions can be voiced. In summary, it may be very hard to tell if the grips are original to the pistol, one must judge the overall wear of the pistol and match it to the grips.

10-02-2005, 12:15 AM	#7
drbuster User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: San Mateo, California Posts: 1,432 Thanks: 2 Thanked 71 Times in 56 Posts	This issue can become very foggy. You may have owned a Luger for 50 years and swear that the grips came with it from the factory. Having the last two digits (or the entire serial number) stamped inside the grip reinforces that feeling, but this can be faked. Sometimes one sees a worn Luger with fresh grips bearing high sharp diamonds, that is easy. The best I have been able to tell: Early lugers, 1900-1906 bore the serial numbers inside; 1908 commercials, militaries to 1912 (1913?) did not; post WW1 were all over the place; Simson's did, especially Lugers made by them; early Mauser Lugers did, but later ones didn't, especially with plastic grips, many police Mauser banners had only waffenampts stamped inside. These observations are stated only as a baseline, I'm sure many many exceptions can be voiced. In summary, it may be very hard to tell if the grips are original to the pistol, one must judge the overall wear of the pistol and match it to the grips.