Luger Ammo Labels

[Marvin]

That was agood thread about the 9mmP ammo boxes and there needs to be a better explanation of how to read them. I have the book by Walter, "The Luger Book" which gives a great description so I will give you what he says:


Despite the variety of lettering styles, these labels presented much the same information in 1940 as in 1914. Several examples are shown in the book, but I can't copy them into this message, but identification of the individual parts show similarity.


1. The contents of the box are shown: 16 Scharfe Pistolenpatronen 08. A live ball cartridge for the P.08.


2. The date and/or lot of delivery, and the company resonsible. The older labels usually bear a date only: Gefertigt am 13 November 1917 Ge. made by Gustav Genschow, Durlach, and produced 13 Novermber 1917. While the later boxes are usually coded with a batch number. The abbreviation "lief" or "L" represents Lieferung (delivery), thus "P.L.1.32" denotes cartiridges were made by Polte-Werk of Magdeburg, and delivered as the first lot of 1932.


3. The powder type, amnufacturer and delivery information "P.P.R. (2708) 1.L.17. for example was deliverd in lot 1 of 1917. The later labels are more complex: "Nz.Stb.P.n/A/(0,8.0,8):m Rdf2.L.28." This shows that the Nitrozellulose Stabchen-Pulver neuer Art, a "new Pattern" nitrocellulose-based propellent, took the form of small rods (Stabchen) 0.8mm in diameter and 0.8mm long. It was supplied as lot 2 of 1928 by a supposedly unidentified maker with the code "Rdf" - the Rheindorf factory of Dynamit Nobel.


More to follow later in a second installment.


Marvin