Commecial Database Commentary (very long)

[Dwight Gruber]

revised 8/14/07 DG

When I started the Commercial database, I promised that I would eventually post my observations from the information. After long consideration of more data than I could have possibly imagined accumulating, I have finally formalized some thoughts and here they are.

As this report exceeds the Forum character limit for a single post, I have divided it into several sections.

Post 1 of 3

What follows are the thoughts and sporadic research investigations inspired by consideration of the DWM Commercial database I have been assembling. They are strictly my own. As this is a research work-in-progress what I write here may be subject to change with the addition or discovery of new information. Iâ??ve avoided speculation as much as possible; inevitably some creeps in anywayâ??on re-reading the text before submitting it, rather more than I originally intended. â??DG


NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE COMMERCIAL DATABASE

�© 2007 Dwight Gruber

One day a few years ago I was curious to know where in the 1906 serial number series the proof marks changed from c/BUG proofs to c/N proofs. As I couldnâ??t find the information in my library, I decided to take an online survey of Luger collectors to see if I could find out.

When I attended a Reno gun show shortly after, a collector friend pointed out two 1902 Fat Barrel Lugers on a dealerâ??s table and asked me what I thought of them. As I examined them I noticed that one had a wide grip safety and the other had a narrow safety. I also noticed that I did not know which was proper for the model, and I realized that if I wanted to seriously engage myself in this hobby Iâ??d better learn these things. As this is the kind of detailed information which is not commonly presented in the literature, I realized I would have to find it out for myself.

As I was already collecting data for the proof characteristics, it seemed straightforward enough to simply extend the quest for the 1902 data. However, as I examined more guns and more data, I found that I had questions about many more characteristics which the literature didnâ??t answer, or presented in only the most general way and without concrete example. I wanted to know the details, by the numbers, and the only way to do that was to track them down.

Originally I decided, arbitrarily, to end the survey at the end of the 5-digit Commercial series. Since then I have had other questions, gathered data on more characteristics, and extended the range of the survey into the early v suffix pistols of the 29DWM variation: the very end of Luger production at DWM.


PRODUCTION DATES

Inevitably the questions arise, where does the data actually begin? From the data, how does one establish dates for the production of a variation, or a particular pistol?

Establishing these dates is a hit-or-miss proposition. In the absence of records of DWM production, one must look to external or historical circumstances to pin down the dates of a particular serial number range, and extrapolate from there.

The actual beginning date of 1900 Commercial production is not found in any source which has been available to me. However, production cannot have begun before May 4, 1900. This is the date that the Swiss Parliament accepted the final design for the Swiss Military Parabellum, and thus finally established the pattern for the type.

By the second week of October, 1901, the thousand guns ordered for testing by the U.S. Army had been crated and shipped to Government Island in New York. Correlation with the serial numbers indicates that, by this time, at least 7,147 Old Model Commercial Parabellums had been manufactured. This is an example of one kind of number benchmark which can be applied to the question of dating a particular pistol.

The beginning of production also illustrates another principle, or presumption, which has guided me when considering the serial number sequence. That is, between 1900 and 1916 the evolution of the Pistole Parabellum occurred in response to military considerations and requirements. Commercial characteristics and production only follow their corresponding military acceptance. Since the date establishing a particular military requirement is usually documented, this provides a convenient method for dating corresponding Commercial production.

When attempting to establish production figures it is tempting to determine two dates, take the range of serial numbers between them, and divide by the numbers of weeks or months. I have resisted the temptation to do so. The industrial practices of the nineteenth and early twentieth century in Germany suggest that Lugers may not have been produced on a production line as we understand the concept, but in batches which may preclude simply averaging production over time. There is no way to know if commercial production occurred continuously, or if the same assembly resources were at times used to fulfill DWMâ??s various foreign military contracts.

Some collecting authorities assert that â??blocksâ?� of serial number production were â??reserved,â?� or assigned by DWM to a particular contract or run of guns, or for some other reason skipped in production. Sometimes this is invoked to explain an incongruity in dates of test pistols and their associated serial numbers, and sometimes to simply explain long number ranges where there are no recorded pistols. Because some of the number incongruities have logical explanations, and because there is no documentary evidence or logical reason for DWM to have skipped serial number ranges in production, my interpretation of the data represented in the Commercial database assumes that there was a Luger manufactured for every integer.

Digging into the details of the database one finds both confirmation and contradiction of published material, some of which is now decades old. It is hard not to refer to these sources in comparison. Sometimes it is â??conventional wisdomâ?� or declarations whose origins are lost in time which are confirmed, or more often supplanted, by new understanding.



1900 â??OLD MODELâ?� PARABELLUM

Production total

It is remarkable to note that from the beginning of Commercial Parabellum production in 1900 to the delivery of the Bulgarian contract pistols sometime in 1902, DWM produced at least 21,000 Old Model Commercial Parabellums.

Thumb safety Variations

Three different styles of thumb safety lever appeared on early 1900 pistols: a lever with a cross-checkered area level with its face and extending half its length (Type-1); a lever with a cross-checkered area raised from its face and extending one-third of its length (Type-2); and a lever with a ribbed or fluted area raised from its face and extending one-quarter of its length (type-3).

Type-1 safeties are found from the beginning of production until at least sn 916. The Type-2 safety appears by sn 1062 and runs until at least sn 10192. The type-3 safety appears by sn 10199 and persists until the end of DWM Luger production.

There are two exceptions found within these ranges. There appear to be some type-2 safeties on guns around sn 240. There is also a range from sn 3206 to sn 4680 (at most) in which Type-1 and Type-2 safeties are intermixed.

Grip safety changeover

From the beginning of production until at least sn 9855 grip safety levers are narrow, that is, extend across only half the width of the rear grip strap. Starting around sn 10010 grip safety levers extend across the full width of the grip strap, and remains that way throughout DWM grip safety Luger production. There are four sporadic examples of wide grip safeties earlier than sn 9855, which may be viewed with suspicion.

The grip safety data satisfies my curiosity about the changeover and demonstrates that, indeed, 1902 â??Fat Barrelâ?� grip safeties are properly wide.

Takedown lever numbers

One of the common â??understandingsâ?� about Model 1900 Lugers is that the takedown lever serial number was located on the right-round end until sometime after the U.S. Test Eagle series, at which time it moved to the bottom edge. From the examples reporting this characteristic, this is not the case at all. The serial number is indeed found on the end for the first approximately 3,000 guns, after which it is found on the bottom edge.

Sometime around sn 6000 the takedown number returns to the right end. Between sn 7094 and sn 7108 the number migrates to the left face of the takedown lever. Between sn 7775 and sn 7857 the number returns to the bottom edge. From sn 8348 to at least sn 8678 the number returns to the right end, with at least one reported on the bottom. From sn 8977the number returns to the bottom edge, where it remains for the next 28 years of DWM Commercial production.

American Eagle Proofs

Commercial guns sold in Germany and elsewhere on the Continent were required to undergo proof firing by state proof houses. The proof house which serviced DWM in Berlin (unidentified at this time) stamped these guns with the c/B, c/U, c/G suite of commercial proofs. The United States has no corresponding civil proof law, so proofing of guns destined for America was unnecessary.

Kenyon and others, in their descriptions of 1900 American Eagle markings, have said that 1900AE are found with proofs or without. All of the reports here of 1900 American Eagles from the beginning of recognized AE series production (sn 2002) are without proof marks.

(Note, that there are two American Eagles reported in the 700 serial number range which are c/BUG proofed.)

Test Eagles

The U.S. Test Eagle Lugers are of particular interest in any study of 1900 Parabellums. In October 1901 the U.S. Army took delivery of 1,000 pistols for distribution to soldiers in the field to test their suitability for service as a U.S. Army issue sidearm. By 1904 the experiment was deemed a failure; the guns were recalled from the field and the surviving pistols were sold at auction.

With the exception of five pistols mentioned in a field test report, and possibly four found in a repair report, the serial numbers of the U.S. Test Eagle pistols have not been found in Government records. Determining the identity of individual 1900 AE as U.S. Test guns is crucial to collectors of these pistols.

Collectors have historically identifed Test Eagles by two undocumented factors, falling under the general category of â??conventional wisdomâ?�:

The first is the 1,000-gun serial number range. Authors from Datig through Jones and Walter and Kenyon to Reese have speculated on its extent. None of them agree on the specific range. According to Reese, â??Evidence received from the Bureau of Accountingâ?� sets the range from 6099-7098; Kenyon speculates the range at â??aboutâ?� 6100-7100; Walter (1995) says the range is â??conventionally attributedâ?� to be 6151-7150. Most collectors seem to have fixated on the range as being sn 6100 through sn 7100.

The second is the unique set of four characteristics ascribed to these pistols:
1. The guns have the American Eagle seal stamped atop the chamber;
2. The guns are not stamped GERMANY;
3. The guns have no proof stamps;
4. The takedown levers are all numbered on the right, round end.

The data collected for the Commercial database effectively demolishes all conventionally understood information about the U.S. Test model 1900 Parabellums. As noted above, all 1900 AE series production lacks proofs, and the serial number on the takedown lever migrates from position to position. One migration from the right end to the face occurs near sn 7100 (more on this downscreen).

According to an import and revenue duties act passed by the U.S. Congress on Oct. 1, 1890, all foreign-made goods entering the U.S. after March 1, 1891 are required to have the country of origin marked on them. This is the reason that GERMANY is found stamped on Luger pistols exported to the US. It has been long been presumed that, since the 1,000 Test Eagles were not a pistol for export but rather a military contract shipped directly to an Army weapons facility, they were not subject to this import requirement.

It is not known if this presumption is in fact accurateâ??this is a topic for further research. What the database demonstrates, however, is that there is a range of pistols, from at least sn 5778 to sn 7976, chamber stamped with the American Eagle, which do not have the GERMANY export stamp.

In 1906 the U.S. Test Parabellums were declared surplus and 780 of them were bought at auction by Francis Bannerman. These serial numbers were recorded in the course of the sale, and they are delineated in the database. They extend in a non-contiguous sequence from sn 6167 to sn 7147.

As noted above, one change from end-numbered to face-numbered takedown levers occurs between sn 7094 and sn 7108, within the Bannerman range, and 7108 is identified as having its number so placed. This is definitive evidence that the takedown serial number placement is not a determining Test Eagle characteristic.

Thus, there is no unique set of physical characteristics which exclusively identify the U.S. Test Eagles.

It is clear that the only way to identify a 1900 American Eagle Parabellum as U.S. Test gun is to find its number within the Bannerman number list. The Bannerman numbers are highlighted in the database, and these are the only guns identified in the database as Test Eagles. (The range of non-import-marked American Eagles is also highlighted.)

For an expanded discussion of the current understanding of U.S. Test Eagles, see Ron Woodâ??s analysis in Jan Stillâ??s new book Central Powers Pistols.

The Swiss Cross

Two ranges of 1900 AE, at least sn 2021-sn 2199 and at least sn 8914-sn 8977, have small Swiss crosses stamped on the left side of their barrels. These are the same crosses found on Swiss military contract guns. There is speculation that this is the result of DWM borrowing excess or not-yet-used barrels from Swiss-inspected stock to complete a commercial production run. (A similar circumstance occurs in 1906 production with circle-B marked barrels relating to Brazilian contract production.)

There are also three Swiss Commercials, not in these ranges, which report these barrel crosses. Other Swiss Commercial reports note the cross is absent.


1902 VARIATION

The variant which is referred to as the â??1902 Modelâ?� is the most misunderstood Luger variation. Collectors identify this variation by the characteristic â??fatâ?� barrel, the new 9mm caliber, old-style dished toggles, and the new, short frame with its flat recoil spring.

The Misnamed â??1902â?� Variants

The 1902 range designation goes back as far as Datig in 1955. It is hard to know the reason for its designation. The end of the 1900 variation is commonly assigned to coincide with the end of the Bulgarian contract pistols at sn 21000. The date of the Old Model 1900 sale to Bulgaria is not found in the English-language literature; Still (Imperial Lugers) comes closest when he says the delivery was made in â??approximatelyâ?� 1902.

The guns which follow are a range of Lugers from sn 21157 to at least sn 21992 which are predominately carbines. Although these are universally referred to as â??1902 Carbinesâ?�, this is a complete misidentification. They display none of the 1902 characteristics, being exclusively long-frame, .30 cal., Model 1900-style guns. In addition, there are examples of standard 1900-style Parabellums reported within this range.

These carbines are themselves found in two ranges, split by the short-frame â??1902â?� production. The second range extends from sn 22463 to sn 24872. There are standard Lugers, both 1900 log-frame and â??1902â?� short-frame, found within this range as well

The Short Frames

Although the 1902 variation is usually characterized by the 9mm â??fatâ?� profile barrels, it is much more useful to identify them by their short frames (Ron Wood Type II)â??the first major construction departure from the long-frame 1900-style Parabellum.

The conundrums of short-frame production require serious speculation to explain, speculation which is mostly beyond simple commentary based on database information. By the numbers, not more than 1,500 short frame old model pistols were made. From this production came two test series (the German and Dutch test guns), the 50 guns modified for the Powell Cartridge Counter device, and the small numbers of Commercial and American Eagle pistols made available for sale.

The only dates associated with these pistols are the 1904 delivery of the Cartridge Counter guns, and the 1904 orders for the German and Dutch test pistols. This information, in conjunction with the thousand long-frame guns produced in 1902 after the 1900 Bulgarians, reinforces speculation that the 1,500-gun short frame production run was likely not made until sometime in 1903; and the parts were not completely â??used upâ?� until 1906.

A developmental role for short frame pistol production is suggested from the observation that later B series â??1902 Prototypesâ?� have short frames; and that within the first 250 guns of the series are found the German and Dutch test pistols which have unique barrels, and the Cartridge Counters. Some collectors assert that â??blocksâ?� of serial numbers were reserved for these test purposes. This is effectively countered by the observation that Commercial and American Eagle examples are found within this range. It is inferred from correspondence that the Cartridge Counter guns were take from regular production stock; it is much more logical that the German and Dutch test guns were also.

The â??Fat Barrelâ?� Commercial and AE guns could be considered developmental in the sense of limited production testing the commercial viability of a 9mm Parabellum pistol.

â??1903 Frenchâ?� and the End of the Old Model

While developing the 9mm cartridge and selling the German Navy the original 1904 (flat spring) Navy model, DWM was also developing the coiled recoil spring. This first appears on a Prototype Dutch model delivered in 1904, and presages the future of the Parabellum Pistol.

Following production of the short-frame series, DWM produced more than 1,600 carbines and standard pistols based on the long, 1900-style frame. This production extends into 1906, almost to the beginning of 1906 New Model production.

The last old-model variation, however, is the mis-named â??1903â?� French (or Commercial), appearing no more than 50 guns before 1906 production. This is a combination of two models: a short Type-2 frame with toggle lock; and the flat-knob toggle assembly characteristic of the 1904 Navy. It is further characterized by CHARGEâ?? stamped on the new-style extractor. Some collectors speculate that these pistols were intended to test the commercial market in France.

It is tempting to think of this pistol as transitional between the Old and New model Parabellums. Although the flat-style toggle grips are entirely cosmetic and contra-ergonomic, it is the first Commercial model (along with the 1904 Navy) to incorporate the new-style breechblock and extractor. With its flat recoil spring and toggle lock, however, it is the last expression of the Old Model Parabellum.