Is this common?

[Don M]

There are several reasons I believe it probably is a II and not N:
1. The diagonal line extends beyond the left leg and onto the welt.
2. The two legs are not stamped on the same line. They would be if it were from a single N die but not necessarily so if it were stamped twice with an I die.
3. I know of no German police marking S.D.N.

As for the location, it corresponds with that specified for Reichswehr holsters which is consistent with an original Reichswehr marking. In the early 1920s, there were no instructions for marking police holsters and markings from this time period are found in various locations. If the police marking was intended to replace the Reichswehr marking, there was nothing to prohibit overstamping.

While police LP08s and holsters are quite rare now, they did exist in the early 1920s. While the evidence is sparse, I believe some LP08s were issued to police shortly after WWI. Their length proved unsuitable for police work so soon almost all were either reworked into P08s or replaced by P08s. One notable exception is the Prussian Landjägerei which continued to use LP08s until they were replaced by P08s in 1929.

Here is an example of a police LP08/P08 rework: http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthre...d=1#post196859.