1913 ERFURT

One quick question for you advanced collectors. I have an oppurtunity to purchase a 1913 Erfurt. The gun is very well finnished, has a stock lug,matching clip, and is in excellent condition. My question is: What is the difference between a 1908 Military, which also has Erfurt toggle markings and chamber date of 1913 and a 1914 Military also with the formentioned features? The values differ considerably according to Aaron Davis' book. (see pages 33 and 36 respectively) How do you tell the difference? Any help is appreciated! If you have the answer please E-Mail me as well as posting on the forum.


Best Regards,


Tim Canney

Someone smarter than me can wade in one this, but it has long been my understanding that the designation of "1914 model" is some what inaccurate due to the fact that the stock lugs started appearing in 1913 (not sure on the hold opens, but I do know that many thousands of Lugers had been modified and were turned in for modification in July/August 1914 when the war started). I would say that you actually have a so-called 1914 model....I don't know if the 1913 date would make this more desirable or not...I would tend to think that they would bring a slight increase over a 1914 dated.

[Ron Wood]

The 1908 Military Erfurt will have dates up to and including 1913. In very late 1913, probably in December, the stock lug was added to both the DWM and Erfurt Lugers. Because not many of these late 1913 Lugers with the stock lug had been observed by early collectors, it was thought that the stock lug was incorporated in 1914, hence the designation "1914 Military" was coined. Lugers dated 1913 with the stock lug were produced in considerably smaller numbers than those without this feature, hence collectors have placed a slight premium on them because of their relative scarcity. The difference in value between the 1908 and 1914 military shown in Davis' book is because there were a lot more 1914 Militaries produced, so for two Lugers in the same condition a 1908 would be less common than a 1914 and therefore more valuable.