Requesting Help to Identify/Verify an Old Luger

mrerick · 08-06-2023, 06:49 PM

Follow the FAQ link at the top of every forum page to the post that has our FAQ PDF document and you'll be able to download quite a bit of reference information accumulated from LugerForum posts.

It looks like a nice earlier commercial M1900 Luger.

The grips may have coarser checkering than factory grips, and may have been replaced at one point. They also appear to be in better condition than the metal which shows finish wear. If you remove them, use extreme care - especially on the left side - so that you don't damage or chip them. Most Lugers have a matching number inside the grips. Their appearance may relate to how they were cleaned as well.

There were many Lugers sold into Western US customer distribution. They even appear in some photographs of early 20th century cowboys as a favored modern firearm. Tracking an early 1900 DWM Luger would involve access to shipment and distributor data that doesn't likely exist anymore. DWM's factory was relocated to Mauser in the early 1930's, and there was also a world war after Mauser stopped P08 production in 1942.

Early distributors like Hans Tauscher were working out of New York City, and their business operations are long gone.

Dealers like Pacific Arms could have sold it:

https://www.landofborchardt.com/PAC.html

There are some early catalogs listed here:

https://www.landofborchardt.com/catalogs.html

08-06-2023, 06:49 PM	#3
mrerick Super Moderator - Patron LugerForum Life Patron Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Eastern North Carolina, USA Posts: 3,925 Thanks: 1,377 Thanked 3,140 Times in 1,520 Posts	Follow the FAQ link at the top of every forum page to the post that has our FAQ PDF document and you'll be able to download quite a bit of reference information accumulated from LugerForum posts. It looks like a nice earlier commercial M1900 Luger. The grips may have coarser checkering than factory grips, and may have been replaced at one point. They also appear to be in better condition than the metal which shows finish wear. If you remove them, use extreme care - especially on the left side - so that you don't damage or chip them. Most Lugers have a matching number inside the grips. Their appearance may relate to how they were cleaned as well. There were many Lugers sold into Western US customer distribution. They even appear in some photographs of early 20th century cowboys as a favored modern firearm. Tracking an early 1900 DWM Luger would involve access to shipment and distributor data that doesn't likely exist anymore. DWM's factory was relocated to Mauser in the early 1930's, and there was also a world war after Mauser stopped P08 production in 1942. Early distributors like Hans Tauscher were working out of New York City, and their business operations are long gone. Dealers like Pacific Arms could have sold it: https://www.landofborchardt.com/PAC.html There are some early catalogs listed here: https://www.landofborchardt.com/catalogs.html __________________ Igitur si vis pacem, para bellum - - Therefore if you want peace, prepare for war.