German Luger Collectibles


Although produced in 7.65 mm this extremely rare gun was designed for the "third-round" of US testing after the initial test trials produced unfavorable comments about the stopping power of the 7.65 millimeter round. Georg Luger worked on and perfected the 9 mm round (9mm x19 mm)with a minimal amount of tooling to make the gun available quickly.

The very epitome of the classic Parabealum, the very clean lines, hand carved grips and the flattop toggle arrangement makes this GL the centerpiece of any collection.

The top shows the clean lines in the beauty of the thickened barrel, the spring extractor and the American Eagle over the chamber. In the right hand side one can see within the dish toggle, the toggle lock which when the gun is fired moves to the rear to unlock the toggle and by bumping the frame causes the "knee" to buckle and extract the spent ground.

The dished toggles are representavtive of the early 1900's model. The serrated toggles gave way to the round hashed toggles in 1906. The pin hold the toggle lock was moved from the front to the top in later models. Above Right: One can see the "00" last two digits of the serial number on the bottom of the side plate, the slide lock and you can see the wider trigger guard that was slimmed in later models.

Above Left: Illustrated is the 1900 dished toggle with the spring loaded latch thate was cut and welded into the frame (arrow) TEXT

tIn story of the prototype the prototype numbering forms a distinctive chapter in the development of the Parabellum. normal numbering began every year with one and rose through 10,000 and then drop back to 1 a to 10,000 a and by adding the alphabetical suffix it was easy to follow the years and the lot numbers.


The American Eagle series produced by DWM began with the early introduction of test guns for the U.S. Army. In the spring of 1901, the US Board of Ordinance & Fortifications, commanding officer Col. Frank H Phillips, ordered from Hans Tauscher, the DWM representative in the US, two7.65 mm 1900 model Parabealum's for preliminary tests and evaluation by the Board Board began testing the German Parabealum and based on favorable results they recommended that the US Army purchase 1000 of the 7.65 mm Parabealum's and the necessary rounds at $14.75/Parabealum and $0.85 for the magazines after arrival they were shipped to Springfield Armory for official acceptance.

And here on the rear toggle is the signature your initials of Georg Luger (intertwined GL). It is been pretty much confirmed that his initials only appeared and very special guns that he personally worked on or those which were presentation guns in the day of his preeminence with DWM, it can't be said that he initialed all the prototype cons because one finds them in the "B" suffix series without his initials. One can't say he he initialed the Swiss series because there are Swiss test guns found without his initials. So no one can definitively state how many "GL" Lugers there may be only when they find them nobody wants to sell it. At times

ABOVE LEFT: Here you can see extraordinary serial number which immediately tells you the number exceeding 10,000 that you have a prototype or test gun. Seeing the "B" suffix provides any confirmation that your holding a prototype. ABOVE RIGHT: The magazine has no markings and just represents a plain bottom .

This particular gun is numbered 10,100 representing the 10 thousandths 99 guns proceeded it in some variation as prototype. Some of the more significant prototypes will bear the GL (Georg Luger) on the rear toggle indicating that he himself had worked onthe development of that gun.

The trigger guard is the wide 14.8 mm. The magazine is relieved with a blank bottom. The serial number appears in the front of the frame on the bottom of the locking lug, underside plate and inside on the 1st toggle lug.

9 March 1901 the Board of Ordnance and Fortifidations met with Hans Tauscher, the DWM representative, with two Old Model Parabellums (1900's) and 2000 7.65mm cartridges. This round clocked 1,154 ft/sec at 53'. Tauscher field stripped the gun in 3.75 seconds and reassembled 12.5 sec. The static firing apppeared to be successful but when the Parabellums were disbursed to the mounted cavalry troops the troops clearly had a preference for their higher calibre revolvers.


A = Long Frame; B= Long Seer; See = Dish toggles; D = Flat 2nd toggle; "GL" on rear toggle; E = brushed frame indicating the gun is on safe (this was later followed by the German word GESICHERT [Loaded]); F= Grip Safety

When special guns were being worked on as in the prototype series they began in the 10,000 series and went up. In your collecting experience when you saw gun in the 10,000 number you could assume it was a prototype made before the series are those contract guns were let out to the public. We know that the Fat Barrel Series began in the 22,000 serial number range but before these were made the conversion to 9 mm in the necessary testing produced a series of prototype guns which were continuously numbered in the 10,000 series.


ABOVE LEFT: Two of the very unique features of this particular handgun is the fat barrel design drilled for a 7.65 mm barrel with the appropriate bona fides of the 10,000 "B" series serial number. ABOVE RIGHT: Inside the locking well is the early imprint of the DWM manufacture marks but there are no exports stampings on the gun. Clearly intended as a test piece only.

We are a licensed Federal Firearms Dealer. We are required to sell out side the State of North Carolina to only ship to those personnel that possess a Federal Firearms License (FFL) who in turn will process the Federal Form 4473 and in compliance with whatever local laws in your community will issue you the gun. For guns designated Curio & Relics (as all original 1899-1945 Parabellums are), we can ship the gun directly to those C&R holders.

9 March 1901 the Board of Ordnance and Fortifications met with Hans Tauscher, the DWM representative, with two Old Model Parabellums (1900's) and 2000 7.65mm cartridges. This round clocked 1,154 ft/sec at 53'. Tauscher field stripped the gun in 3.75 seconds and reassembled 12.5 sec. The static firing appeared to be successful but when the Parabellums were disbursed to the mounted cavalry troops the troops clearly had a preference for their higher calibre revolvers.


Toggle Lock: After moving roughly 0.5 in (13 mm) rearward, the toggle strikes a cam built into the frame, causing the knee joint to hinge and the toggle and breech assembly to unlock. At this point the barrel impacts the frame and stops its rearward movement, but the toggle assembly continues moving (bending the knee joint) due to momentum, extracting the spent casing from the chamber and ejecting it. The toggle and breech assembly subsequently travel forward under spring tension and the next round from the magazine is loaded into the chamber. The entire sequence occurs in a fraction of a second.


This example has all matching serial numbers and is of the long frame without the stock lug and it has matching walnut grips. The first toggle link is marked with the DWM monogram, and there is the "V" rear sight on the last toggle link. The extractor is spring steel and the thumb safety was buffed.


This Parabellum is 7.65mm which was the preferred caliber for accuracy at that time. It has the 4" (100mm) heavy but is drilled out for the 7.65mm rnd. The trigger guard is the wide version and the trigger is the narrow and beginning in this series it is moved more to the center to accommodate both left and right handed shooter.


It is entirely subjective to give any firearm a rating of excellent or fine, just as it is to declare it xx% blued or strawed. Few collectible weapons are out of the box new and these are premium priced. Bluing percentages is like Beauty, in the eye of the beholder. We strive to provide pictures so you can judge for yourself if the gun meets your criteria. Any questions or request for additional purchases email to josef@phoenixinvestmentarms.com. This firearm is eligible for transfer to C&R permit holder, even in California. We are registered with CA DOJ for firearms shipment.

As any book will tell you the "B" 10,000 series Parabellum's are prototypes and begin as a 1 of 1. Rare becomes an overused term in auction catalogs and descriptions of antique firearms. In this case the gun speaks for itself as a clearly defined transitional "Fat Barrel" (the beginning of the 9 mm transition), the American Eagle on the chamber (the beginning of the 1000 series test guns),7.65 barrel, (again foretelling of the 9 mm chambering), all under the seal of George Luger's GL on the rear toggle. Truly a super unique gun for any serious Luger collector.