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1911 ERFURT PURCHASE.

2K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  Edward T 
#1 ·
A few years ago I went looking for an early Erfurt Luger and lucked into this one.I wanted one without the stock lug and this 1911 filled the bill. I was surprised it was all matching down to the un-fluted firing pin. The magazine didn't match. One other surprise was the "MADE IN GERMANY" stamp over the proof marks, first time I'd seen that .The strawed parts are quite dark but they are strawed and not blued. An early Erfurt survivor that evidently came over here sometime after the war. As with most Lugers it shoots very well.
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#2 ·
Nice Erfurt - mine has been reblued.
Looks like it went into the Reserve Machinegun Company (someone correct me if I am wrong)
During the 20-s or 30's it was sold on the open market to the USA area (as you said about the Germany stamp), that is a funny location, but since you see it in many different places, I have always imagined a couple of young workers told to mark them and left it up to them to figure out exactly where :)
 
#4 ·
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Nice Erfurt - mine has been reblued.
Looks like it went into the Reserve Machinegun Company (someone correct me if I am wrong)
During the 20-s or 30's it was sold on the open market to the USA area (as you said about the Germany stamp), that is a funny location, but since you see it in many different places, I have always imagined a couple of young workers told to mark them and left it up to them to figure out exactly where :)
Bob Simpson currently has an even younger Erfurt for sale. In regards to the Germany stamp I have a Stoeger Luger that the Germany stamp is on the barrel extension and hidden by the receiver ears when in the normal at rest position. Clever fellow.
 
#3 ·
Interesting that they wrote out the “Made in …. “. Most early country-of-origin stamps consisted just of the country name.

Looking at the 1909 regulations, the number followed by the “rounded” R seems to denote a reserve infantry regiment. So I would read this as Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 16, Maschinengewehr-Kompagnie, Waffe Nr. 26.

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#7 ·
I’ve been waiting for one of the experts to point out that my reading of the unit marking above is wrong, which is entirely possible. But if it is not, that could add an interesting aspect to the gun. The only 16. R.I.R. on record is a Royal Bavarian unit which is known for having had among its ranks a weird Austrian with a funny mustache who gained some notoriety later on.
 
#8 ·
The R definitely denotes reserve. However, I don't think it is Bavarian because there is no B in the unit mark and a hold-open has been added. Bavarian lugers did not get the added hold-open.

This is likely the 16th Reserve Regiment from the 14th Reserve Division of the 7th Reserve Corps.
 
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