History help 1916 Luger

[Don M]

I'll add what I can to the above.

My research strongly suggests that the I in the police property marking S.D.I.905. indicated the gun belonged to the Schupo command in Essen. This marking is in accordance with marking instructions issued in 1932.

As mentioned, the 1920 stamp indicates the gun had been re-issued to the police by that date. The front grip strap shows evidence (remnant periods) that an earlier marking was ground off before the current one was applied. This was probably a marking for the same police unit but conforming to instructions issued in 1922.

The pistol definitely did not have a Walther (mag) safety added and one of the photos seems to show that there is no Schiwy (sear) safety. As stated above, this indicates the gun was issued to a barracked Bereitschaftspolizei unit that was taken into the military in 1934-35. This suggests the gun served in the army during WWII.

I'm puzzled by the C/G on the chamber. This stamp is found on a number of Lugers that were issued to police in the mid=1920s but I have never seen it in this location. It appears to have been stamped after the 1920 but I may be wrong. It may indicate reworking of some sort in the mid-20s for the police.

I hope this helps a bit.