My new byf P08, what are the proof marks?

Dwight Gruber · 03-05-2007, 04:19 AM

Rylan,

For pictures, try putting your camera on its "macro" setting, put the gun on some surface, and brace the camera on a surface or use a tripod.

The new pictures are tantalizing. I agree that the frame suffix is q.

I'm not sure that the byf center toggle is originally numbered 69. It looks "messed up", as though the number might have been changed. A sharper picture of the rear toggle link might reveal an overstamp there as well, you might see something unusual by eye. It looks like there is a stamp on the top of the rear toggle link, is that true and if so what is it?

The barrel suffix is intriguing as well, I agree that it looks like y.

It is a fact that Luger owners occasionally go to some trouble to find replacement parts which have the same number as the gun they are to go on. I once had a 1918 Artillery Luger which had a frame and barrel with the same number, but the frame suffix was l and the barrel suffix was b. These script letters are sufficiently similar that it took a magnifying glass to see that they sere not the same. Marring on the barrel and frame was ample evidence that the barrel had been changed, and someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to find a barrel which, to casual observation, would be a "match". All this is to reinforce that some of the numbers on your gun are what are called "force matched", possibly the barrel in particular.

Only 15 and already this deep in the mysteries of Lugers, eh? Very glad to welcome you to what I hope will be a long and fruitful collecting career.

--Dwight

--Dwight

03-05-2007, 04:19 AM	#1
Dwight Gruber User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,908 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1,330 Times in 435 Posts	Rylan, For pictures, try putting your camera on its "macro" setting, put the gun on some surface, and brace the camera on a surface or use a tripod. The new pictures are tantalizing. I agree that the frame suffix is q. I'm not sure that the byf center toggle is originally numbered 69. It looks "messed up", as though the number might have been changed. A sharper picture of the rear toggle link might reveal an overstamp there as well, you might see something unusual by eye. It looks like there is a stamp on the top of the rear toggle link, is that true and if so what is it? The barrel suffix is intriguing as well, I agree that it looks like y. It is a fact that Luger owners occasionally go to some trouble to find replacement parts which have the same number as the gun they are to go on. I once had a 1918 Artillery Luger which had a frame and barrel with the same number, but the frame suffix was l and the barrel suffix was b. These script letters are sufficiently similar that it took a magnifying glass to see that they sere not the same. Marring on the barrel and frame was ample evidence that the barrel had been changed, and someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to find a barrel which, to casual observation, would be a "match". All this is to reinforce that some of the numbers on your gun are what are called "force matched", possibly the barrel in particular. Only 15 and already this deep in the mysteries of Lugers, eh? Very glad to welcome you to what I hope will be a long and fruitful collecting career. --Dwight --Dwight