This is a commercial 9mm on a new 1906 Model frame, 100mm barrel with a grip safety and no stock lug. Vickers Lugers bear the marking "Vickers, Ltd." on the forward toggle link, "RUST" with an arrow curving upwards above the thumb safety lever and "GELADEN" on both sides of the extractor.

In the beginning, the Netherlands was one of the first countries to adopt the Luger officially, their initial order having been placed before 1908. They reordered at least once before the outbreak of the First World War and possibly twice. Despite the fact that they are one of the world's smallest nations, the Netherlands were good customers of DWM. Not only did the Army use the Luger but also the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Royal Netherlands Indies Army (K.N.I.L.).

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British proof marks (London Proof House) in the form of a "V" surmounted by a crown may appear on various parts of the pistol. Originally manufactured by Vickers Ltd., in England for a military contract sale to the Netherlands approximately from 1915-1917.  It was speculated that the contract during WWI was placed with the English firm because of the ten-current hostilities between Germany and Holland.

It is reported that, for some unknown reason, the Netherlands placed an order for approximately 10,000 Luger Pistols sometime during the course of the First World War. Why the order was placed with Vickers, Ltd. of England is unknown. It is a known fact that Lugers had been received from DWM in 1916, or at least examples so dated have been encountered.

The Netherlands was one of the first countries to adopt the Luger officially, their initial order having been placed before 1908. They reordered at least once before the outbreak of the First World War and possibly twice. Vickers Lugers are numbered in the commercial system of numbering (hidden) for all the known weapons produced.

Most Dutch Vickers are encountered with  a brass plate, measuring approxi­mately 1 1/2 inches in length by 3/8ths of an inch in height, will probably be found to be braised onto the left side of the frame between the wooden grip and the left toggle. These plates were added to the pistol by the Netherlands Government and usually have various combinations of letters and numbers inscribed thereon. They acted as identification plates for the profusion of military units to whom Lugers were issued.

It is, of course, possible that, although the order was placed some years earlier, delivery was not made until the middle '20's due to the heavy commitments placed upon Vickers by the British Government. It is also possible that the original order was for a smaller number of pistols, as those pieces dated "1924" have not been found to be numbered lower than the #2,000 series. Those dated from 1924 to 1926 all fall into the #2,000 to #10,000 series, however. This would indicate that at least 7,000 to 8,000 of the pieces took up to three years to deliver. Under the circumstances, this situation would not be con­sidered unusual. It is more than likely that those Vickers Lugers dated after 1926 were later re-barrelled by the Netherlands.

Since the Vickers is not a commonly found Luger and this one is a very rare commercial gun produced after the series of contract guns (1-10100, Seen Kenyon, Lugers at Random, P 144) we have included some additional pictures of the proofs and markings for your enjoyment. Note the London proof house Crown V.

Above: Perhaps to date the gun, but then again purely speculative, the numbering of  the rear connecting pin was a 1932 German directive. This pin is marked with the '03' last two digits of the serial number.  While the Dutch were very innovative in their modifications and requirements for their firearms they were either finely tuned to the German requirements or the Germans adopted this practice in 1932.

Above: The finely checkered grip of this model has a flat surface where one is used to the slightly convex shape of the DWM grip.

Right:  Here is the numbering in the commercial or hidden style.

It is entirely subjective to give any weapon a rating of excellent or fine, just as it is to declare it xx% blued or strawed. Few guns 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.

The Vickers, outside of the Swiss variations manufactured by Waffenfabrik Bern, is the only model of the Luger that has ever been produced outside of Germany.

The Vickers Commercial guns, cited by Bas J. Martens in The Dutch Luger, recognizes two of of approximately 30 guns by serial number; #10184 (Safe and Loaded) and #10206 (Rust/Geladen). Speculation is that these were made up for private sale to Dutch Officers, we may never know.

This is an extra ordinary example of the Vickers produced Luger, and in a commercial version (one of maybe 30).  While most of the Vickers survived in extremely worn condition by virtue of their employment in the Dutch colonies this model is a collector grade gun for the most discriminating collector who simply wants the best.