1938 Hk - Sn 9938 (Tom A's new "baby")

[John D.]

I have to warn you â?? this is a LONG thread!!!

Below, you will find an example of a 1938 HK I was asked to verify for Tom A. In short, it was a pleasure to do so, for a number of reasons. First â?? Krieghoff Lugers are somewhat scarce altogether, and many collectors are thrilled to have one or two in their Luger collection. Second â?? any time I am asked to verify a specimen â?? which finally turns out to be an unmolested example, I get excitedâ?¦

For that â?? and to 1938 HKs specifically, there are darned few to compare. For example â?? Mr. Gibson in his excellent research and book - owned a 1938 HK serial number 10038 which was extensively photographed and dissected into the base of his core research regarding this variation. However was that representative of â??allâ?� 1938 HKs?

Since that time â?? I would offer that, in fact â?? with a total production of 50 â??1938â?� chamber dated Krieghoffâ??s, there are in fact â?? two variations: One variation of 1938s included serial numbers of less then 10000 and the second variation above 10000. More to the point, in the two â??1938â?� variations (remember â?? there are fewer then 25 known to exist of all 1938 HKs), there was a distinct, yet subtle changeover in terms of proofs, placements, numbering, serialization and markings during that miniscule production run.

As well, since there are so few dedicated HK collectors in the world today who own multiple Krieghoffs, and fewer still, several within the same HK variation â?? these subtle changes in a single â??chamber dateâ?� run are often difficult, if not impossible to discern. All too often I see a collector with â??oneâ?� single example question the authenticity of another example if theirs does not match â??exactlyâ?� what they see on their HK or might have gleaned from Mr. Gibson.

So with that disclaimer â?? I offer up Mr. Armstongâ??s 1938 HK as a learning experience and as well â?? I ask you to feel free to compare it with one of my 1938 HKs in the Lugergallery in the sub-10000 variation (found here: http://gallery.rennlist.com/lugergallery/jdhk38 ).

As I did â?? I hope you find it most interesting (Iâ??ll try to compare Tomâ??s and my pre-10000 1938 to one of my post 10000 1938s in a future thread â?? but, I donâ??t want to hi-jack this thread and thesis).

1938 HK SN 9938

The left side shows barrel wear and highpoint wear on the side-plate, typical of being carried in the holster:



The right side is typical HK at that era: Strawed ejector, trigger (right side mag release is fire blued):



Front view showing frame digits (2mm) and the properly crowned muzzle.



The Chamber date "1938". The digit formation, baseline, offsets and other indicators are "right on" to other "1938" HKs personally inspected, including 3 that have a light "8" on the right side..



Right Receiver: Stamps of this production era run include acceptance of both the frame (as seen on the rail), and the progression of the following: LWaA Stage 1 (early); Proof mark; LWaA Stage 2 (Mid) (Of particuliar note is the LWaA Stage 2, which Gibson theorizes may have been a different inspector. See below.) (variations noted in 1938 production). On the rail, is again found the LWaA Stage 2.



You can see the diffences in the LWaA Stage 2 (Mid) found on SN 9938 (picture above) to another 1938 HK (sn 9221 - next picture) which has the LWaA Stage 2 (Early) here:





Frame Serial Number. Note that Krieghoffâ??s do not have a letter suffix. Rather, in the Commercial Series, you will note a â??Pâ?� prefix. As this is military issue, no prefix or suffix exists:



Left Receiver Serial Numberr. Note that these were hand stamped, and often times, the baseline will not be aligned. I also liked this photo, as it shows the distinctive trigger profile of HKs.



(continued in the next postâ?¦)