EXTRAORDINARILY RARE, ONE OF A KIND, MODEL 1898 DUTCH TEST/ACCEPTANCE PRE-PRODUCTION PROTOTYPE BORCHARDT- LUGER SEMI-AUTO PISTOL.

EXTRAORDINARILY RARE, ONE OF A KIND, MODEL 1898 DUTCH TEST/ACCEPTANCE PRE-PRODUCTION PROTOTYPE BORCHARDT- LUGER SEMI-AUTO PISTOL. SN 35. Cal. 30 Luger. Extraordinarily rare Luger with 6″ tapered bbl, dovetail barleycorn front sight and tall fixed rear sight integral with the toggle. This fantastic pistol is completely unmarked except for serial numbers on the toggle, toggle link, bolt & receiver lug with the script “GL” on the rear of toggle. “GL” being the initials of Georg Luger which only appears on those pistols that he personally assembled or presented. This gun has many unique features that are only seen on true pre-production Borchardt-Lugers. It has the flat bolt with dished toggles and unusual thin beveled edged rails on frame. Machining of frame is unique inside the rear well and at the hump at the bottom of the front grip strap which has not been hollowed out from the inside as on later production models (we had the piece x-rayed to confirm that it was machined this way). Receiver rails do not have the shanfers that were added to production models to prevent interference with the top edges of the magazine. Thumb safety is straight with a very flat, thin knurled thumb pad and an oversized checkered lock bolt pad. Fitted with early narrow grip safety with rounded corners and has unusual orig plain bordered Borchardt-Luger walnut grips like those on other known early prototype Lugers. Trigger is a correct DWM tool room transitional replacement (replaced during testing) of the orig thin trigger which did not go into production. Magazine is also the earliest type with flat, checkered and unmarked wood base. The juncture of the bbl to receiver has had the raised collar of the bbl machined to about half its normal thickness and a narrow spacer installed, apparently to correct a headspace problem during testing. The reference marks on bottom of the bbl & receiver align perfectly with the washer remaining in the white as one might expect from a field alteration such as was likely encountered during the testing of this pistol. Only a couple of true Borchardt-Luger prototypes are known to exist, and this is probably the most significant & important pre-production prototype Luger available for sale today. This pistol represents an evolutionary step toward the development of the venerable & world renowned Luger pistol that was in production from 1900-1945 in Germany and a few other countries around Europe. CONDITION: Very fine to extremely fine. Bbl retains 95-97% strong orig blue with some slight thinning on each side of muzzle collar and fine discoloration and pin prick pitting on left side. Receiver retains about 90% orig blue, strong over top, slightly thinned on sides. Bottom of receiver rails are in their orig white. Toggle, toggle link & bolt retain most of their strong orig factory blue with slight thinning in a couple of spots in the rails of the bolt. Frame retains about 93-95% strong orig blue, dull on raised left panel and front strap. Sideplate retains 92-93% thinning orig blue, strong in sheltered areas. Straw colored parts retain most of their orig golden color, slightly thinned on thumb safety. Magazine is outstanding with a few minor spots of discoloration and a crisp wood base. Mechanics are crisp, bright shiny bore. Left grip has a small chip below safety, otherwise grips are sound showing light diamond point wear with a few minor nicks & scratches and retain most of their strong orig factory varnish. An interesting and important note pertains to the interior from below the grips. When Doug first acquired this gun doe his collection he dismantled it to fully inspect it. In doing so he discovered some rust pitting under the grips, and with the exterior of the gun so good it perplexed him til he was reminded that this is exactly as the gun should be. True test trial Lugers were submerged in water for a period of time as part of the the tests. Later, the gun would be wiped down with oil on the exterior only, thus the interiors were subject to some rust from the water. 4-36470 JR106 (90,000-130,000)

Auction: Firearms - Spring 2009

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	1131	$0.00	EXTRAORDINARILY RARE, ONE OF A KIND, MODEL 1898 DUTCH TEST/ACCEPTANCE PRE-PRODUCTION PROTOTYPE BORCHARDT- LUGER SEMI-AUTO PISTOL. SN 35. Cal. 30 Luger. Extraordinarily rare Luger with 6″ tapered bbl, dovetail barleycorn front sight and tall fixed rear sight integral with the toggle. This fantastic pistol is completely unmarked except for serial numbers on the toggle, toggle link, bolt & receiver lug with the script “GL” on the rear of toggle. “GL” being the initials of Georg Luger which only appears on those pistols that he personally assembled or presented. This gun has many unique features that are only seen on true pre-production Borchardt-Lugers. It has the flat bolt with dished toggles and unusual thin beveled edged rails on frame. Machining of frame is unique inside the rear well and at the hump at the bottom of the front grip strap which has not been hollowed out from the inside as on later production models (we had the piece x-rayed to confirm that it was machined this way). Receiver rails do not have the shanfers that were added to production models to prevent interference with the top edges of the magazine. Thumb safety is straight with a very flat, thin knurled thumb pad and an oversized checkered lock bolt pad. Fitted with early narrow grip safety with rounded corners and has unusual orig plain bordered Borchardt-Luger walnut grips like those on other known early prototype Lugers. Trigger is a correct DWM tool room transitional replacement (replaced during testing) of the orig thin trigger which did not go into production. Magazine is also the earliest type with flat, checkered and unmarked wood base. The juncture of the bbl to receiver has had the raised collar of the bbl machined to about half its normal thickness and a narrow spacer installed, apparently to correct a headspace problem during testing. The reference marks on bottom of the bbl & receiver align perfectly with the washer remaining in the white as one might expect from a field alteration such as was likely encountered during the testing of this pistol. Only a couple of true Borchardt-Luger prototypes are known to exist, and this is probably the most significant & important pre-production prototype Luger available for sale today. This pistol represents an evolutionary step toward the development of the venerable & world renowned Luger pistol that was in production from 1900-1945 in Germany and a few other countries around Europe. CONDITION: Very fine to extremely fine. Bbl retains 95-97% strong orig blue with some slight thinning on each side of muzzle collar and fine discoloration and pin prick pitting on left side. Receiver retains about 90% orig blue, strong over top, slightly thinned on sides. Bottom of receiver rails are in their orig white. Toggle, toggle link & bolt retain most of their strong orig factory blue with slight thinning in a couple of spots in the rails of the bolt. Frame retains about 93-95% strong orig blue, dull on raised left panel and front strap. Sideplate retains 92-93% thinning orig blue, strong in sheltered areas. Straw colored parts retain most of their orig golden color, slightly thinned on thumb safety. Magazine is outstanding with a few minor spots of discoloration and a crisp wood base. Mechanics are crisp, bright shiny bore. Left grip has a small chip below safety, otherwise grips are sound showing light diamond point wear with a few minor nicks & scratches and retain most of their strong orig factory varnish. An interesting and important note pertains to the interior from below the grips. When Doug first acquired this gun doe his collection he dismantled it to fully inspect it. In doing so he discovered some rust pitting under the grips, and with the exterior of the gun so good it perplexed him til he was reminded that this is exactly as the gun should be. True test trial Lugers were submerged in water for a period of time as part of the the tests. Later, the gun would be wiped down with oil on the exterior only, thus the interiors were subject to some rust from the water. 4-36470 JR106 (90,000-130,000) Auction: Firearms - Spring 2009 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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