1912 Erfurt

Dwight Gruber · 03-22-2004, 10:33 PM

Burnoutbound,

I agree with George that you have a -very- cool pistol!

1920 is not a refurbish date. It is a property mark stamped on the gun to identify it as belonging to the government. There are ways to tell whether or not your Luger has been reworked, but presence of the 1920 property mark is not one.

When reporting a unit mark, it is very important to be perfectly accurate--letter size, number size, where the periods are, and whether the letters are Roman or script, all have a bearing on the interpretation. In the case of the unit mark on you Luger, it is crucial to know the size of the numbers and exactly which characters are struck out. Also, is the character before the slash really H., or might it be 11.(or II.)?

Weimar unit marks very often have a letter or number before a slash. GÃ?Â¶rtz & Bryans "German Small Arms Markings" has no H./ entry, but does have a couple of 11./ entries. It is not clear in the typeset or the context if this is an eleven or a Roman numeral II.

Close examination of the marks and reporting of the marks with the foregoing in mind will make it much easier to interpret the unit marks. A photograph would be even better. For that matter photos are always great in any case, we all--well, I, for certain--would really like to see your Luger.

--Dwight

03-22-2004, 10:33 PM	#3
Dwight Gruber User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,908 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1,330 Times in 435 Posts	Burnoutbound, I agree with George that you have a -very- cool pistol! 1920 is not a refurbish date. It is a property mark stamped on the gun to identify it as belonging to the government. There are ways to tell whether or not your Luger has been reworked, but presence of the 1920 property mark is not one. When reporting a unit mark, it is very important to be perfectly accurate--letter size, number size, where the periods are, and whether the letters are Roman or script, all have a bearing on the interpretation. In the case of the unit mark on you Luger, it is crucial to know the size of the numbers and exactly which characters are struck out. Also, is the character before the slash really H., or might it be 11.(or II.)? Weimar unit marks very often have a letter or number before a slash. GÃ?Â¶rtz & Bryans "German Small Arms Markings" has no H./ entry, but does have a couple of 11./ entries. It is not clear in the typeset or the context if this is an eleven or a Roman numeral II. Close examination of the marks and reporting of the marks with the foregoing in mind will make it much easier to interpret the unit marks. A photograph would be even better. For that matter photos are always great in any case, we all--well, I, for certain--would really like to see your Luger. --Dwight