Hello Norm,
Is this the Swiss on GunBroker you refer to ?
http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/Vie...?Item=13275667
I am not sure I see a "P" on the left side...maybe the Muhlemann or Volgesang stamp in a cartouche...?
On a 1906 DWM, you would not expect to see a serial number stamping on the left side of the gun...and the P-commercial stampings did not occur on the 1906 DWM series, but rather on the later 1906 W+F Bern and the 1929 W+F Bern lugers...
If a Swiss gun was a commerical sale, the "P" should be in a prefix position in front of the serial nubmers and should be the same size and font style as the serials...
If it is a lone "P" or a "P w/2 digit date", this indicates a military gun released (and possibly refurbished) for privatized sale... This "P" stamping occurs on the left side (either ont the receiver flat or the frame rail) or sometimes on the front of the trigger guard...these "P" release stampings tend to be applied a little crooked on the gun as well...
Ron Wood made a posting a few weeks back about the Swiss habit of refurbishing their guns. As Ron mentioned, it is nice to find an "original" finish Swiss but a Bern factory rework does not seem to distract, much, from a gun's value either...similarly to the Dutch lugers and a few 1904 Navy lugers that have very old reworks... <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />
Regards,
Pete... <img border="0" alt="[typing]" title="" src="graemlins/yltype.gif" />