A Real Two-date Erfurt

Dwight Gruber · 08-27-2004, 11:46 AM

Part Two

Imperial military Lugers are characterized by having the letter suffix stamped under the barrel serial# as well as the frame. It is missing on this gun. I believe I have read that this was not always present on Lugers produced near the war's end, but I cannot find this reference.

The barrel and receiver of this Luger seem to have been very heavily 'worked'. There is a minute amount of 'halo' present around the barrel numbers, but it also appears that the barrel has been subjected to heavy-handed wire-brushing--carding? or grinding?--which has partially worn the numbers, removed much of the blue from the barrel, and compromised the smoothmess and line of the barrel surface. I would normally suspect that this was done by some post-war owner, but it is somewhat consistent with what are patently machining marks. The effect is extremely difficult to see in these pictues.

The heraldic eagle barrel firing proof has been multiple-stamped, or perhaps, it took three attempts to make a complete stamp. The two marks above the eagle's head appear to be two stamps of the eagle's left wing tip.

The left receiver serial# (here unfilled) shows distinct halo. It has overstamped an extremely light first stamping of the same numbers.

That all these barrel and receiver characteristics are authentic is strongly suggested by this Luger's perfect witness mark.

Disassembling this Luger reveals its other major oddity. The forward and rear toggle links are both stampe 44 on their bottom surface. Letter and symbol inspector stamps are accounted for in the marking instructions and appear on this gun as expected; the 44s are a mystery.

08-27-2004, 11:46 AM	#3
Dwight Gruber User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,908 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1,330 Times in 435 Posts	Part Two Imperial military Lugers are characterized by having the letter suffix stamped under the barrel serial# as well as the frame. It is missing on this gun. I believe I have read that this was not always present on Lugers produced near the war's end, but I cannot find this reference. The barrel and receiver of this Luger seem to have been very heavily 'worked'. There is a minute amount of 'halo' present around the barrel numbers, but it also appears that the barrel has been subjected to heavy-handed wire-brushing--carding? or grinding?--which has partially worn the numbers, removed much of the blue from the barrel, and compromised the smoothmess and line of the barrel surface. I would normally suspect that this was done by some post-war owner, but it is somewhat consistent with what are patently machining marks. The effect is extremely difficult to see in these pictues. The heraldic eagle barrel firing proof has been multiple-stamped, or perhaps, it took three attempts to make a complete stamp. The two marks above the eagle's head appear to be two stamps of the eagle's left wing tip. The left receiver serial# (here unfilled) shows distinct halo. It has overstamped an extremely light first stamping of the same numbers. That all these barrel and receiver characteristics are authentic is strongly suggested by this Luger's perfect witness mark. Disassembling this Luger reveals its other major oddity. The forward and rear toggle links are both stampe 44 on their bottom surface. Letter and symbol inspector stamps are accounted for in the marking instructions and appear on this gun as expected; the 44s are a mystery.