Uh-oh...

[MFC]

Hi Dave,
Nice honest early commercial with the type 1 thumb safety. To me these are the best looking Lugers. I'm sure you will be happy with it.

"Early commercials have 5 digits, does mean this one is among the first 4k ever built?"

The short answer is... No

The long answer is...Commercial production started soon after and along with the Swiss military contract. There are no records indicating exactly when and at what rate commercials were produced compared to the military contracts which were produced at the same time. The serial # ranges are different. They could have been made in batches or every third or fourth gun for example. The first commercial began with serial #1, produced in early 1900. The numbers are continuous. By 1921 commercial production reached #92000. The commercial serial # range includes commercials like yours, Swiss commercials , American Eagles and, Test Eagles which we can date, etc...

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by MFC

...Commercial production started soon after and along with the Swiss military contract. There are no records indicating exactly when and at what rate commercials were produced compared to the military contracts which were produced at the same time. The serial # ranges are different. They could have been made in batches or every third or fourth gun for example. The first commercial began with serial #1, produced in early 1900. The numbers are continuous. By 1921 commercial production reached #92000. The commercial serial # range includes commercials like yours, Swiss commercials , American Eagles and, Test Eagles which we can date, etc...

OK, if I understand this, then Swiss military contract 1900s, Test Lugers for the US Army, other 1900 American Eagles, etc. had their own ranges of serial numbers, as did the commercials. The number series/range for each type would be different, according to contract or category? There's documentation to date the other categories' ranges v. dates of production, but the straight commercials were built sporadically, and though consistent in their sequential numbering , there's no way to discern exactly when they might have been built? Other than to say that the serial number of mine is closer to the beginning than the 90-some thousand end in 1921, what would be a "reasonable " guess as to its birthday?

Was there a point in time when the 1900 commercials were replaced by the '06 design/configuration, or were 1900 style also produced until 1921? 1921 was the beginning of what we call "alphabet commercials"--with (up to)4-digit numbers with suffix, right?
Was the same serial number range of 1-90+k continued through all commercial variations up until 1921?