World War I Imperial German 1917 Dated DWM Artillery Luger Pistol with Rare Original Detachable "Radium" Night Sights, Artillery Length 4mm Barrel Insert and 4mm Cleaning Rod This is an exceptionally nice example of a late WWI 1917 dated DWM Artillery Luger pistol that is accompanied with an ultra rare set of original WWI developmental/prototype "Radium" clip-on night sights. A similar set of sights is pictured on page 254 of the book "Luger Holsters and Accessories" by Bender. These sights were intended to improve the ability to engage targets at night and have also been seen on various configurations of GEW sniper rifles. The unique aspect of this example is that it contains the detachable "rear sight" set, which is usually missing as they can fall off easily. As shown, the front sight is secured by a small band with lock screw that fits around the barrel and contains a small circular vial of Radium (which has depleted over the years). The rear sight aperture is made up of two sheet metal stampings that also contain some kind of luminous material that is seen through a small slit, mounted on each side of the rear sight aperture. This rear sight attachment is held on by two small locking screws that impinge on the rear sight. The artillery Luger is dated 1917 over the chamber area with the "DWM" monogram on the front toggle. The right side of the barrel extension has the "Crown/Gothic letter" military acceptance proofs next to the "Imperial Eagle" firing proof. These same proofs are also on the side and underside of the barrel. This Luger is numbered in the military style with the full serial number on the major parts and the last two digits of the serial number on the various small parts. The extractor and safety are correctly marked, and it has the standard front sight with the artillery style tangent rear sight that is graduated from 1-8 (100-800) meters. The Luger is complete with one nickel plated magazine with matching numbered wooden base marked "2162/n/+". Also in this lot is an original, and fairly rare, Artillery length, 4mm barrel insert, that includes an original 4mm, Artillery length cleaning rod for the barrel insert. An exact same type of device is also shown on page 323 of the same book referenced above. Manufacturer: DWM Model: 1914 Artillery BBL: 8 inch round Stock: Gauge: 9 mm Finish: blue Grips: walnut Serial Number: 2162n Class: Curio & Relic Handgun Condition: Very fine with 95% plus original blue finish overall with some minor touch up present on the center section of the barrel and some minor pitting underneath the blue finish. The small parts retain 65% of the original straw colors which are fading with age. The grips are in excellent condition with nice sharp checkering on both sides showing light wear. The unique/rare night sight apertures are both in excellent condition, (although, both probably have lost their ability to glow in the dark due to their age) are complete and intact and correctly fit on the Luger barrel and rear sight. The additional Artillery length barrel insert is in excellent condition with the original bright polished outside with an excellent bore. A very nice lot with an excellent Artillery Luger pistol with all matching numbers to include the magazine, the rare/unique developmental or prototype Radium sights and the additional barrel insert.

  • Condition: See Description

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by Rock Island Auction Company
April 26, 2015 9:00 AM CDT
7819 42nd Street West
Rock Island, IL, US 61201

Rock Island Auction Company

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