1903 French Luger

Archived-NOT FOR SALE
1903 Commercial French Contract

There is a 1903 French Commercial from made by the DWM (Deutsche Waffen-und Munitionsfabriken AG) factory which is displayed on the first toggle link. The extractor identifies this gun as a "French" contract gun with the "Chargé" on the extractor. (1256)

NOTE: Photographs taken today with the high mega-pixel camera show more than we sometimes can see with the human eye. Magnified close-ups show us tool marks and natural surface conditions that one normally doesn't see in the ordinary handling of the weapon. 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. Thank you for your cooperation.


What brings this gun to the collectors attention is the use of the knurled toggle on the left side and the toggle log on right side. One other transition gun is the 1904 Navy which is another highly desired rare gun.
Note the common four raised points in the web of the lock which are characteristic of the French transition.
The dicing of the transition toggle knobs shows a pattern of changes from the dished to the final version in the 1906 model toggle which reveals a horizontal pattern to the lines. Extensive research on these transition toggles can be found at http://www.landofborchardt.com/1903FC-article.html



The serial number block of this Luger falls in the middle of the known French guns known as the '03 French.

The grips are the checkered walnut, there is no stock lug, there is a hold-open.

The Extractor is marked with the Chargé and there are no minor serial numbers exposed as common with commercial model Lugers.

The interior views of the gun show a very clean and well preserved weapon. The mechanical parts of the '03 are clearly visible with the fire-blued pins, nitrate blued locking lever, trigger, etc., and the well polished surface show the old-world craftsmanship at its finest.

This was the last year of the leaf spring inside the Luger before the coil spring. The grip safety has been removed to show the leaf spring and grip safety return spring.



The commercial serial number placement is clean and crisp. The bottom of the magazine is marked "Germany" which was required of all export guns to show the nation of origin.

This is an extraordinary Luger in the very rare category that represents one of the transition guns from the 1900 to the 1906 and was produced for the French with the right hand toggle lock utilizing the then future knurled knob toggles. This very rare Parabellum is offered for SOLD over-the-counter. Any questions to josef@phoenixinvestmentarms.com

LAYAWAYS: Sometimes our "significant other" doesn't understand the beauty, craftsmanship and investment potential of one of these investor grade weapons. In these circumstances where discretion becomes the better part of valor we will accept layaways of up to one year with at least 20% down and some activity occurring monthly to insure that after one year the sale is completed. Cancellations of layaways forfeit 33% if done within two months, otherwise 100%. You can transfer a layaway to a consignment sale at any time. See "Legal" for exact terms.

See Credits, Bibliography, Notices and Disclaimers.

3 Day Return Policy

We honor a three day return policy. We will answer any questions, send you any pictures, as detailed as you want, to insure that what we are showing you is what you want to see, before you buy it. See Legal.

FIRING ANY WEAPON NEGATES ANY CHANCE OF RETURN!

WARNING: We do not represent these guns as safe to fire. They are not test fired before sale; they are sold as collectibles only. Prior to firing you should have it inspected by a qualified individual and abide by all safety requirements.

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