Erfurt 1917/18 marked luger on GB

[DonVoigt]

Originally Posted by Dave Sanders

I saw this on Gun Broker and wondered if the 1917/18 marked chamber date was legit. I have not seen that with war years guns, but I am a novice forever learning. If legit, why was it done?
Dave

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/870344410

Military lugers were to be dated with the year they were "made".
Since receivers were dated early in the mfg. process, at the end of the year some , in this case 1917 dated receivers were not assembled to the point of final inspection, thus in January of 1918 the requirement to date it 1918 was tripped.
So the receiver/pistol started in 1917 was finished in 1918, so the
"/18" was added.

I have one of these myself; A 1918 receiver not finished until 1920. I suspect it lay unfinished throughout 1919, and must have been completed early in 1920, before the Versailles Treaty was completely implemented. It also has provisional Weimar Reichswehr markings.