Swiss model 1900 #1

[Ron Wood]

The whereabouts of #1 from the 1898 prototypes is unknown. The lowest known surviving example is #5. The 1900 Swiss military #1, which was the first "production" Luger, does exist and was in the collection of Henk Visser of the Netherlands. I do not know if it is still with that collection or not. The most likely candidate for a Luger Holy Grail would probably be one of the approximately ten 1898 Prototypes (#5 and #6 are known). After that probably one of the approximately thirty 1899 Preproduction pieces, of which about a dozen or so are known. These Pototype and Preproduction pieces are the genesis of our favorite firearm.

After that, probably the .45 caliber US Test Luger with only two (or possibly 3) verified existing examples, #2 and an un-numbered piece in a museum in Louisiana. There are some other extremly rare examples that are avidly sought by collectors, and other folks may consider them to be the Holy Grail depending on their collecting interests.