Rationale behind partial serial #'s like 56xx, etc.

[Dwight Gruber]

Originally posted by alvin
...For many mass produced guns, minor variations was made in a few thousand volume, and are called "Transitional" by collectors, major variations were made in tens of thousands, and are entitled "Early", "Late", or "Standard", etc.... for most guns, the last 2 or three s/n digits are usually not important for communication purpose, unless the s/n appears very close on the boundary of transition, or it belongs to a very tiny variation, e.g. trial guns.

At the risk of belaboring the point...

The Luger pistol is not one of those "...many mass produced guns...". In our case, in the absence of existing documentation, the situation is reversed--knowing a gun's serial number and associated characteristics helps refine the known transition boundaries. Also, there are many questions commonly asked on these Forums which cannot be adequately answered without the complete serial number.

This practice of disguised serial number reporting is very frustrating to the researchers, authors, and data collectors among us, as well as those collectors who simply strive for a complete understanding of their Lugers. An incomplete serial number provides no value as a data point..

--Dwight