Luger identication help

Ron Wood · 05-16-2011, 02:23 PM

Pepe:

I am glad you have not yet purchased this Luger. As one of the “closed and ignorant” persons that Albert warned you about, I would like to make some comments about the gun.

It is a very early Model 1900 and should have a Type II thumb safety and a narrow grip safety (only slightly wider than ½ the width of the grip strap). The grips are reproduction. The checkering is not as fine as the original 1900 grips and you can clearly see at the top of the grip that it is not shaped correctly. It is difficult to tell from the photo but it appears that the front sight is blued and not a heat treated “fire blue” finish. Bluing is always difficult to evaluate from photo due to variances in type of lighting, background, etc., but the finish on this gun looks too dark and there are absolutely no flaws or wear anywhere on the gun. Although not impossible, while I have seen some really superior original Lugers as early as this one, I have never seen one this perfect.

There are Model 1900 Lugers that have been attributed to early Portuguese testing. There are no surviving archival records to verify this, but it is generally accepted. These guns bear a large two-digit number on the side of the receiver like the “20” on the example you are looking at, but they are of much later production in the 18XXX serial number range. This gun is much too early.

In my “ignorant” opinion, this is a refinished gun with replacement parts and an obvious forgery that is an attempt to replicate an early Portuguese test piece. I also find it amusing that an outstanding restoration could not be made in Portugal…there are “artisans” in every country!

Regards,
Ron

P.S. The "GERMANY" stamp is the final kiss of death!

05-16-2011, 02:23 PM	#11
Ron Wood Moderator 2010 LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Santa Teresa New Mexico just outside of the West Texas town of El Paso Posts: 7,040 Thanks: 1,106 Thanked 5,256 Times in 1,724 Posts	Pepe: I am glad you have not yet purchased this Luger. As one of the “closed and ignorant” persons that Albert warned you about, I would like to make some comments about the gun. It is a very early Model 1900 and should have a Type II thumb safety and a narrow grip safety (only slightly wider than ½ the width of the grip strap). The grips are reproduction. The checkering is not as fine as the original 1900 grips and you can clearly see at the top of the grip that it is not shaped correctly. It is difficult to tell from the photo but it appears that the front sight is blued and not a heat treated “fire blue” finish. Bluing is always difficult to evaluate from photo due to variances in type of lighting, background, etc., but the finish on this gun looks too dark and there are absolutely no flaws or wear anywhere on the gun. Although not impossible, while I have seen some really superior original Lugers as early as this one, I have never seen one this perfect. There are Model 1900 Lugers that have been attributed to early Portuguese testing. There are no surviving archival records to verify this, but it is generally accepted. These guns bear a large two-digit number on the side of the receiver like the “20” on the example you are looking at, but they are of much later production in the 18XXX serial number range. This gun is much too early. In my “ignorant” opinion, this is a refinished gun with replacement parts and an obvious forgery that is an attempt to replicate an early Portuguese test piece. I also find it amusing that an outstanding restoration could not be made in Portugal…there are “artisans” in every country! Regards, Ron P.S. The "GERMANY" stamp is the final kiss of death! __________________ If it's made after 1918...it's a reproduction Last edited by Ron Wood; 05-16-2011 at 03:19 PM.