1920 Luger Markings

saxman · 03-29-2003, 10:46 AM

I'll take a whack at it since it's just like my '1920'. Check out the proofs shown in the Technical Section at the left side of the home page. You'll probably find that your receiver proofs (on RH side) are like #31, indicating a police or military rework. The 'a' under the serial number on the barrel is the SN suffix, and should also be on the front of the frame under the frame SN. The 8,83 on the barrel is the bore diameter verification - 8.83mm, land-to-land.
Look closely at the 1920 over the chamber - you should be able to detect that this area was ground down to remove a previous date. Look at the top of the chamber from the muzzle - you can tell that the steel is a little thinner on top. You can also feel how the curve was brought back in on both sides of the chamber. These were WWI guns that were reworked, many by Simpson, between the wars. The 1920 may be a property mark rather than a date.
Does yours have the sear safety or frame cut for the magazine safety? If so, it was a police rework. If not, probably military. These guns were re-blued at the time of rework, and most of them were rust-blued. This represents pretty much all I've learned about mine. If I have misstated anything, I'm sure there will be plenty of rebuttals, and we'll eventually nail it down. Anything new found out about yours will help me, too.

03-29-2003, 10:46 AM	#2
saxman User Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 301 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I'll take a whack at it since it's just like my '1920'. Check out the proofs shown in the Technical Section at the left side of the home page. You'll probably find that your receiver proofs (on RH side) are like #31, indicating a police or military rework. The 'a' under the serial number on the barrel is the SN suffix, and should also be on the front of the frame under the frame SN. The 8,83 on the barrel is the bore diameter verification - 8.83mm, land-to-land. Look closely at the 1920 over the chamber - you should be able to detect that this area was ground down to remove a previous date. Look at the top of the chamber from the muzzle - you can tell that the steel is a little thinner on top. You can also feel how the curve was brought back in on both sides of the chamber. These were WWI guns that were reworked, many by Simpson, between the wars. The 1920 may be a property mark rather than a date. Does yours have the sear safety or frame cut for the magazine safety? If so, it was a police rework. If not, probably military. These guns were re-blued at the time of rework, and most of them were rust-blued. This represents pretty much all I've learned about mine. If I have misstated anything, I'm sure there will be plenty of rebuttals, and we'll eventually nail it down. Anything new found out about yours will help me, too. __________________ You can lead 'em to the water, but you can't make 'em drink.