Info needed on a German Luger

[villiers]

Typical (for me). YES! (If I only get one thing worng in a message, it´s considered a sussess).

Have just finished re-loading 200 of the b*ggers that I´d filled with rifle powder by mistake.

[Johnny Peppers]

Johnny, what makes you think that its post ww1 commercial? Serial number or the markings or what?

The serial number with letter suffix and better pictures would help determine exactly what it is.

In Jan Still's book "Weimar Lugers", he clears up some of the confusion on the "1920 Commercial" and "1923 Commercial". The 1923 Commercial was actually a continuation of the serial number range used prior to WWI, and continued with the resumption of production following WWI, and was produced from about 1919 to 1921. When the commercial serial numbers reached the 92000 range, the method of serial numbering the commercials changed to the military style with a letter suffix. In 1921 the serial numbers began in the 2000i serial number range, and was given the 1920 Commercial name by collectors. The i letter suffix was applied just as if the letter suffix had been used from the beginning of commercial production in 1900 (1 - 9999 no suffix, 1 - 9999a, 1 - 9999b and so on.

[Hoss]

Those 2 gunsmiths sure don't know anything about Lugers.
Your pistol is a 1920 commercial. These were made in both 9mm & 7.65 (30 Luger) I'm surprised it does not have Germany stamped on the left side.
Looks like it has had a lot of use over the years.
Sarge

The first one admitted he did not know much about them. He was the gunsmith at the range. He might have even said it was the first one he'd seen. Though my memory is fuzzy, we might have been talking about the stoeger luger .22 when he said that which wasn't firing reliably. The second one was a fan of military arms and knew enough that he told me it could be fired without the frame, and he said he thought it was probably a pre-war export. But he still couldn't say for sure what caliber it was. It does have Germany stamped on the right side. Its not clear in that picture, but if you know where to look you can tell something is stamped there. Why is that important, and what would it mean if it were stamped on the left as well?

The serial number with letter suffix and better pictures would help determine exactly what it is.

In Jan Still's book "Weimar Lugers", he clears up some of the confusion on the "1920 Commercial" and "1923 Commercial". The 1923 Commercial was actually a continuation of the serial number range used prior to WWI, and continued with the resumption of production following WWI, and was produced from about 1919 to 1921. When the commercial serial numbers reached the 92000 range, the method of serial numbering the commercials changed to the military style with a letter suffix. In 1921 the serial numbers began in the 2000i serial number range, and was given the 1920 Commercial name by collectors. The i letter suffix was applied just as if the letter suffix had been used from the beginning of commercial production in 1900 (1 - 9999 no suffix, 1 - 9999a, 1 - 9999b and so on.

I'd be happy to give better pictures, what exactly do you want to see? I don't see any letters in the serial number. One thing I'm wondering about is the 53 on top of the gun. It looks kinda like 55 in that picture, but that's because of the flash and the fancy font I think. But does the buggared up 5 indicate anything is amiss?

[Johnny Peppers]

The better picture of the right side shows the GERMANY export mark, and another of the front of the receiver showing the serial number location would help. If it has a letter suffix, the letter will not be in the serial number, but under it.

[Hoss]

By front of the receiver, do you mean the underside, like right in front of the trigger guard? I tried to take a couple from that angle but they all turned out blurry. I'll try again tonight. Was the shot of the "germany" mark in my last post good enough or were you asking for a better one? Actually, if you have an example handy of what you mean it would make it easier. Otherwise when I get home, I'll just look wing it and try to get a shot of every mark that looks like its supposed to be there.

[Johnny Peppers]

The front of the frame, not the trigger guard. This is where the serial number is stamped.

[browningautorifle]

Under the barrel on the front there should be a mark telling us what the actual bore diameter is...

[Johnny Peppers]

The bore gage marking is on the barrel right under the serial number. This one is 8,82 mm.

[Hoss]

Under the barrel on the front there should be a mark telling us what the actual bore diameter is...

Well, that would be pretty awesome. But as you can see, there are no markings on my barrel. I also don't see any suffix to the serial number.

I looked around for any other markings. When I disassembled it, I found another 53 on the trigger, and a mark I can't make out on the underside of the slide. Its something you wouldn't see unless you took it apart. It looks sort of like an I or an E, or it might not be a letter at all.

So does any of that mean anything?

[browningautorifle]

So Johnny, with no bbl mwrkings, does that indicate a replacement barrel? I would think the Germans would mark even a replacement with the bore diameter?