My "new" shooter luger : 1918 Spandau fantasy creation

[DonVoigt]

I bought this one for S & G; it is a well known fake or fantasy luger.

First described in 1965 (thanks Marc for the work on this pdf):
http://forum.lugerforum.com/attachme...6&d=1347113697

What is it? As best I can tell it "was" a very nice all matching 1918 DWM luger before the spurious crown and Spandau were added to the middle link.

The frame and receiver all bear the "N" or "circle N" of DWM and the small parts are matching and original to the DWM serial number of 785d.

Who ever "boosted" this luger added Erfurt inspected grips(crown/letter inside marked) and overstamped the original numbers with "85", they even added Erfurt grip screws.(which immediately went into my parts box).

Lest anyone fear for my sanity, I only paid a shooter price for this piece.

I can't help but wonder where it has been for the last 53 years, since first reported in Guns and Hunting magazine in March, 1965.

If anyone has any idea where, when, or from whom it first surfaced, or any of the interim owners- I'd like to document the checkered "provenance" of this luger.

There have been many threads on Spandau lugers and whether or not they actually existed or are all fakes; use the search feature and an hour or so and read all the threads!

Pictures from "today".

It seems I'm gathering a small collection of fake or fantasy lugers,
This "Spandau" joins the fake "1925" Simson I bought last year.
Now to find a nice fake Navy!