Hi Dave,
Nice honest early commercial with the type 1 thumb safety. To me these are the best looking Lugers. I'm sure you will be happy with it.
"Early commercials have 5 digits, does mean this one is among the first 4k ever built?"
The short answer is... No
The long answer is...Commercial production started soon after and along with the Swiss military contract. There are no records indicating exactly when and at what rate commercials were produced compared to the military contracts which were produced at the same time. The serial # ranges are different. They could have been made in batches or every third or fourth gun for example. The first commercial began with serial #1, produced in early 1900. The numbers are continuous. By 1921 commercial production reached #92000. The commercial serial # range includes commercials like yours, Swiss commercials , American Eagles and, Test Eagles which we can date, etc...
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Mike C.
Last edited by MFC; 03-08-2015 at 02:08 AM.
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