[ViggoG]

And a Hi to you too, Kyre ;

I must disagree with your interpetation of the origin of Serial Numbers and the use thereof .

To deviate for a moment ;

During the years of WW-2, The shortage of machine tools was beyond belief. Machine tools were at a premium and old machines from the pre-Luger days were being rebuilt and returned to service .

In those days I personally worked in a machine shop that had as as the newest machine A Brown and Sharpe Milling Machine having the latest patent issued in the year 1892 .

This machine when properly rebuilt was fully capable of producing Luger Frames and Cannon Assy's that were capable of full interchangability when manufactured on the proper fixtures and fitted to the gaging systems that could be constructed on the very machines that were used to produce the parts.

Some of these machines were used during the war to produce Steam Turbine Blades More accurately than any fit required of the most critical Luger Parts.

So interchangability was not the problem that spawned the need for serial no's.

The true need for serial no's. came about from the birth of mass production and production changes that were introduced into the product, as a method to record these changes for future orders or parts replacement .

A system of tracking various parts to match the many varieties of needs of the purchaser generated such a hodge poge of weapons of similar but differing changes (the majority of which were mainly cosmetic) that the People at "DWM" were required to introduce a system of tracking contracts .

These same problems confound us to this day when the records on "Spacecraft Parts" often outweigh the finished part .

I know , I used to make them and even designed the fixtures to verify the Quality of these Spacecraft parts .

For any collector to say these numbering systems were developed to verify the Originality of these parts is a bit presumptious .

You are very Knowlegible of the manvarieties and changes that have been made to these by the many different Facilities for production .(some of which my friends altered during the war).

They were an end to fit a need of the day and have been taken and applied to a use that was not intended at the time of their origin .

They were meant to be used to pull parts of the shelf to fill or replace contract parts , a use that remains to this day common to our industrial needs.

Due to the variety of ways that those in authority think , these numbering systems as originally concieved have been changed to hide the truth until they are practically worthless for any use and we are splitting hairs over a few misapplied words , when there is no way to reach a middle ground unless we draw new lines to describe the disputed product .

With all due respect Either or both of us may be on the right track , only a Professor of Language with both your and my experiences can make this descrimination.

Add another $.02

ViggoG