This Luger P08 pistol is dated 1911 and chambered in 9mm Luger (9x19mm Parabellum), and it carries serial 72xxk. All numbers are matching except for the magazine. The majority of the factory blue remains, with light scattered stabilized rust spots. The pistol is mechanically excellent with a tight lockup, and the barrel is frosted with pronounced rifling. German army acceptance stamps appear on the right side of the receiver, consistent with its reported issue to the German army during World War I. The pistol carries no unit marking and no import mark.
The Luger traces to Georg Luger’s improvement of the Borchardt C-93, and its first mass-produced form, the Model 1900, was adopted by Switzerland. In 1908 the German Army adopted the DWM Parabellum as the Pistole 08, replacing the Reichsrevolver in front-line service, and Kaiser Wilhelm II signed an initial order for 50,000 pistols that August. The P08 is chambered for the 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge, uses a 100 mm barrel, and dispensed with the grip safety of earlier models while adding a lug at the heel of the frame for a shoulder stock. Its toggle-locked, short-recoil action has the barrel and toggle travel rearward together until the toggle meets a cam on the frame and breaks upward to extract and eject. The P08 served as the German Army’s principal sidearm through World War I, produced by DWM and the Imperial arsenal at Erfurt among others. A 1911-dated pistol was built in the years between the P08’s adoption and the outbreak of that war.
Specifications
Manufacturer: DWM (Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken)
Country of origin: Germany
Year: 1911
Model: Luger P08 (Pistole 08)
Action: Toggle-locked, short recoil, semi-automatic
Caliber: 9mm Luger (9x19mm Parabellum)
Serial: 72xxk
Matching: All numbers matching except magazine
Finish: Majority of factory blue remaining, light scattered stabilized rust spots
Bore: Frosted
Rifling: Pronounced
Markings: German army acceptance stamps on right side of receiver; no unit marking; no import mark
Mechanical condition: Mechanically excellent, tight lockup
