1900 American Eagle

[the gunman]

Bob it matters not .All the above advise. congratulations
its one hell of a beauty. The expert members of this forum have a lot more on the ball Than I do. But I sure would love to own that gun

[Ron Wood]

As a general rule, early Lugers that have the serial nmber stamped on the "flange" at the rear of the barrel, as this one does, will not exhibit any halo around the numbers. On later Lugers that have the serial number stamped on the constant taper or "straight" part of the barrel, the halo effect will invariably be seen to some extent on an original finish gun. This topic came up once before, and the reason for the lack of halo on the flange is not clear, but one might guess that the numbers are more protected from wear in this recessed area, and/or there is a slighly different work hardening created during the milling of the flange radius that affects how well the blue "takes" on such a surface.

[RAHamilton]

Doug:

Thanks for the picture showing a very good example of the "halo" effect. This at least gives me a much better understanding of the this term. In looking at my AE, I do not notice the distinct shadow or "halo", but I'm not sure if I should be looking in certain light conditions to amplify the effect or not?

Pete, I did look at the bore again and it is in exceptional condition; no rust, no pitting, it's bright with sharp lands and grooves.

I will take some additional photos, hopefully with a little better clarity, for your evaluation this weekend. I do want to get Albert some additional photos of the front sight in order to gain his insights into the fire blue, which I understand should be on the front sight.

Doug, I live in western (northern area) of Iowa. I live almost exactly 500 miles straight west of Chicago, if that help?. I may take a trip sometime this summer to Simpson's and have Brad take a look at this and other Lugers I have for his comments.

Thanks so much to all of you for your honest opinions and comments. I can't tell you enough how appreciated they are and how they are assisting me and hopefully others gain in their knowledge.

Best Regards,
Bob

[Dwight Gruber]

Bob,

Looking at the picture of the polished frame area under the safety lever puts another thought in mind.

This area was not polished, but rather, milled. The tool leaves a distinct pattern of circles and, more importantly, a physically sharp step at the edge of the cut.

Look at this area under the highest magnification you have available. If the edge of the steel is "dressed", or if the polished area extends outside the milled cut, it is a strong indication that the gun has been reblued.

--Dwight

[RAHamilton]

Dwight:

I viewed this area with a small magnifying glass that I have here at home, but I'm not sure what the power of magnification is. I do not see any real distinctive "circles" or milling marks, but there is a very well defined sharp edge around this area where you can definitely see that is was cut out and not polished as you mentioned. I'm not a machinist, but the non-blued area is slightly lower, again with a sharp edge, than the blued area around it. The safety lever seems as though it fits distinctively within this cut-out area very nicely. Hope that helps?

Thanks for that bit of information and the more tricks, or specific things to look for, I am learning are beginning to convince me this AE is probably pretty much original.

I do need to get some photos to Albert of the front sight, for his discerning eye. As I look at it, the dovetail is slightly worn, but does appear to be a different color blue than the rest of the gun. Albert indicated the dovetail should be "fire blue", but it is not as distinctive as the grip screws by any means.

Thanks again to everyone for their comments and the saga goes on!!

Best Regards,
Bob

[tracyp]

I was going through my safe and taking pictures of my Lugers. Here's my American Eagle. It's a later serial number: no proof marks, wide grip safety. Notice the last three digits of the serial number are on the larger parts.

<a href="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/ae1.jpg" target="_fullview"><img src="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/ae1.jpg" width="400" alt="Click for fullsize image" /></a> <a href="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/ae2.jpg" target="_fullview"><img src="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/ae2.jpg" width="400" alt="Click for fullsize image" /></a> <a href="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/ae3.jpg" target="_fullview"><img src="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/ae3.jpg" width="400" alt="Click for fullsize image" /></a> <a href="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/ae4.jpg" target="_fullview"><img src="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/ae4.jpg" width="400" alt="Click for fullsize image" /></a> <a href="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/ae5.jpg" target="_fullview"><img src="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/ae5.jpg" width="400" alt="Click for fullsize image" /></a> <a href="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/ae6.jpg" target="_fullview"><img src="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/ae6.jpg" width="400" alt="Click for fullsize image" /></a> <a href="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/ae7.jpg" target="_fullview"><img src="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/ae7.jpg" width="400" alt="Click for fullsize image" /></a>

[tracyp]

I guess I should have made them a little smaller for easier viewing.

[Edward Tinker]

Tracy, I changed the IMG to THUMB and it makes them "smaller"

Ed

[Pete Ebbink]

Hello Bob Hamilton,

Please check your Private Message feature...I sent some follow-up questions to your Swiss luger query...

Regards,

Pete... <img border="0" alt="[typing]" title="" src="graemlins/yltype.gif" />