Interesting 1929 Bern 9mm at Tulsa Gun Show...

04-12-2002, 07:13 PM

Saw an interesting luger at the Tulsa Gun Show last weekend that I thought I would describe here for Forum member's opinions :

1929 Swiss Bern, 9 mm, 4-3/4" bbl, black plastic grips, asking was $ 3500.00. The barrel had the paper tag, as on page 353 of C. Kenyon's Lugers At Random. Finish was mint or near mint. Selling table/vendor was a refinish shop...(I will not disclose the vendor's name...)

What intrigued me about this luger was that it had no serial number(s) at all and also did not have the "privatization" stampings.

My first thought was this was a 1929 Swiss 9mmm prototype (as listed on page 218-219 in Lugers At Random).

Did any Forum Members see this luger or do any Forum folks have any comments ?

Might this gun be "honest" ?

How would one go about buying a gun with all the BATF rules since this gun has no serial number(s) at all ?

I walked away from the vendor's table with more questions and a small "red flag" popped up in the back of my mind.

I am trying to understand, historically, what I saw in this luger.

Any help would be appreciated.

Ron Wood · 04-12-2002, 10:22 PM

The vendor had two 9mm '29 Swiss, the one you reference and another. One 9mm '29 is scarce, but TWO!! Both had replacement UN-NUMBERED barrels. The fact that one had a paper tag might (emphasis "might") be legitimate, but even I can make a paper tag and rough it up a bit.

04-12-2002, 07:13 PM	#1
Wm. "Pete" Ebbink Guest Posts: n/a	Interesting 1929 Bern 9mm at Tulsa Gun Show... Saw an interesting luger at the Tulsa Gun Show last weekend that I thought I would describe here for Forum member's opinions : 1929 Swiss Bern, 9 mm, 4-3/4" bbl, black plastic grips, asking was $ 3500.00. The barrel had the paper tag, as on page 353 of C. Kenyon's Lugers At Random. Finish was mint or near mint. Selling table/vendor was a refinish shop...(I will not disclose the vendor's name...) What intrigued me about this luger was that it had no serial number(s) at all and also did not have the "privatization" stampings. My first thought was this was a 1929 Swiss 9mmm prototype (as listed on page 218-219 in Lugers At Random). Did any Forum Members see this luger or do any Forum folks have any comments ? Might this gun be "honest" ? How would one go about buying a gun with all the BATF rules since this gun has no serial number(s) at all ? I walked away from the vendor's table with more questions and a small "red flag" popped up in the back of my mind. I am trying to understand, historically, what I saw in this luger. Any help would be appreciated.

04-12-2002, 10:22 PM	#2
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: 6,988 Thanks: 1,067 Thanked 5,099 Times in 1,676 Posts	Looked bogus to me The vendor had two 9mm '29 Swiss, the one you reference and another. One 9mm '29 is scarce, but TWO!! Both had replacement UN-NUMBERED barrels. The fact that one had a paper tag might (emphasis "might") be legitimate, but even I can make a paper tag and rough it up a bit.