Butt stamp question...

[Don M]

Mark,

I can help on only a couple of questions.

The sear safety I referred to was a special device added to Prussian police lugers after 1933 to prevent discharges after the sideplate was removed for cleaning. Without this device, it is possible for the cannon to be fired even after the receiver and barrel are removed from the frame (if there is a round in the chamber). Yours does not have this device, suggesting it was removed from police service before the 1933 order to add this device was implemented.

I suspect there was once a period between the 7 and 109 (at the lower right of the first 2?) to serve as a delimiter and that the 7 indicated a particular unit and the 109 was the weapon number of that unit. However, these numbers appear taller than the standard 2mm for Prussian police weapon numbers, so this may be a Reichswehr (Army) mark. Perhaps someone like Ron Smith will weigh in on this.

The DWM stands for Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken, one of the major manufacturers of Lugers. The 1920 on the chamber and the serial number of 4828a indicate this was manufactured in 1920 by DWM for the Army. The placement of the last two numbers of the serial number on most of the small parts indicates it was for military service. This provenance is consistent with the speculation that the earlier mark was military.

I know very little about the meaning of the proof marks (eagles) on the right side of the receiver. I'm sure that if you post a good closeup photo of these you'll get lots of help.