This is a 1939 Chamber dated Mauser Banner Police Officer Rig. This appears to be a commercial Mauser that has been proofed for military police acceptance making it a very unusual specimen.    The Luger is an extraordinary example of the police models with a sear safety and both civilian and military proofed.  (1043)

This is a standard 1934 Model gun as designated by collectors a Mauser Banner due to the Banner logo on the 1st toggle link. There is the "V" rear sight on the rear toggle link and the last two digits of the serial number appear. These Lugers were manufactured by Mauser-Werke in Oberndorf.

Photographs are copyrighted, all rights reserved, any extraction, reproduction or display of gun pictures without the express consent of the Phoenix Investment Arms is strictly prohibited. This means you too, Pete. Thank you for your cooperation.

This Parabellum is 9mm police gun in a 100mm barrel length with all matching serial numbers to include matching, original grips. The Crown U (Oberndorf) proof over the serial number on the receiver was a requirement of Proof Law for all commercial guns.

Serial number placement is in the military ("exposed") style.   The serial number appears on the front of the frame, on the side of the locking bolt, on the trigger, on the bottom of the barrel, the side plate,  the left side of the receiver, the safety bar, the sear bar, the rear connecting pin, and on the extractor.

Holsters:  Prussian Landjagerei holsters were usually brown and the Schutzpolizei holsters were black. The rear of the receiver has the characteristic Mauser 2mm "hump" and the rear main axel pin is serial numbered to the gun. This is a marvelously clean example a Mauser that is seldom found.  It has approximately 98% deep blue with only holster wear on the usually high points and a good barrel. There are no import marks.  This is a one of three hundred known in this Banner Series.

Serial numbers appear on the firing pin, breech block along with another military acceptance stamp and on the toggle bolt axle pin.  In 1932 the Reichswehrministerium issued an order that the rear connecting pin be serial numbered to the gun followed by the Bavarian Police order for unit armorers to mark those on hand.

Sear Safety:

During the 1920's it was determined by German Police authorities that one could remove the side plate with the gun loaded, thereby exposing the sear, and by then pressing on the sear discharge the gun.  Patented in July of 1929 by Ludwig Schiwy of Berlin. [The P-08 is designed with the firing mechanism on the side and not behind or on top as most automatic pistols.]

The Sear Safety consist of a spring bar riveted to the top left side of the receiver. (Seen over the sear bar lever). This bar has a vertical pin which is directly over a hole drilled in the sear bar assembly which when the side plate is removed falls into place preventing the sear bar from moving.

Therefore you can remove the side plate while loaded (never recommended) and the sear safety should save you from an accidental discharge. This was limited to guns issued to police battalions.

An Officer from the Berlin Police

Mauser began military production in 1934 with the "K" date Luger and then in 1935 the designation was "G". This entire effort was to confuse the allies with the number and manufacture of armaments. The manufacture code for these Lugers until mid-1939 was S/42.

Commercial and contract Lugers on the other hand were produced under the Mauser Banner and did not have Waffenamt proofs. Utilizing the Crown N or Crown U proofs these guns were of a distinctive better quality than the military Lugers.

Serial number placement is in the military ("exposed") style. The thumb safety is marked "Gesichert" and extractor "Geladen." The barrel is gauged marked and struck to line up with the frame.

Members of the SD (Sicherheitsdienst ) in training. The SD was tasked with the detection of actual or potential enemies of the Nazi leadership and the neutralization of this opposition.

While some attribute the "L" to the Landespolizei there are others that believed these proofs were just assigned to offices along with the Eagle Swastika K, F, S, or C for National Police Inspectors. 

These initials roughly correspond to the police organizations of the Land or State Police being formed during the 1840's to the 1890's and re-establish by Hermann Göring in 1933.

The Schutzpolizei or Order Police were formed in the 1920's from various police organizations as Goering and Himler began to consolidate their power.  The Criminal Police (detectives) or Kriminalpolizei (Kripo) were organized in the 1920's at State Level.

The uniformed police in Germany in 1933 when Hitler came to power were the State Police (Landespolizei) or as they were known in Prussia and Thuringia Protection Police (Shutzpolizei). The Allies had demanded the disbanding of the Sicherheitspolizei (Sipo) which was comprised of WWI soldiers and sailors in a paramilitary organization. Hermann Göring as the Prussian Interior Minister began in March 1933 to reverse this with his creation of Landespolizeigruppe (State Police Group for special purposes) and began to connect the Staat (State) Police units into military style organizations.

Here you can see the Mauser Banner used on the commercial Lugers.  The last two digits of the serial number (23) are seen on the the extractor, 1st and second toggle links.  You can all see the top of the sear safety.

So who was being issued these police type contract guns?  By 1942 the police organizations had grown into private armies of various branches. Many of the police organizations were newly created units of Ordnungspolizei (Order Police), these units were issued Parabellum 9mm to SD, Gestapo, Kripo and Einsatzgruppen (anti-Jewish police units).