Make: DWM

Model: "American Eagle" Model 1900 Parabellum-Pistole Luger, Commercial Variant

Serial Number: 13601

Year of Manufacture: ca. 1902-1903

Caliber: .30 Luger (7.65×21mm Parabellum)

Action Type: Toggle Type Striker-Fired Semi-Auto, Removable Magazine

Barrel Length: 4 3/4”

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a blade dovetailed to a base at the muzzle. The rear sight is a "V"-notch integral to the rear toggle link.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are two-piece checkered walnut panels, each marked "01" on the interior. The grips have only a few minor marks. The checkering is well defined. There are no chips or cracks. Overall, the grips are in Fine-plus condition.

Type of Finish: Blued & Strawed

Finish Originality: Most remaining finish is Original, there is cold-blue touch-up on and around the chamber ring. Numbered parts match.

Bore Condition: The bore is gray with well defined rifling. There is light erosion and minor pitting scattered through the bore. In this writer's opinion, the bore rates 5-6/10.

Overall Condition: This pistol retains about 80% of its metal finish. The finish is thinning at all edges. The grip areas show handling wear with a patch of minor erosion on the grip safety. The chamber ring shows wear treated with cold blue. There are some small nicks and scratches. The action shows operational wear. The screw heads are sharp. The markings are clear, most exposed markings are white paint-filled. Overall, this pistol is in Very Good condition.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We did not fire this pistol. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This pistol comes with a single wood floorplate magazine marked "GERMANY".

Our Assessment: The Luger (Pistole Parabellum or P-08) is perhaps the most aesthetically and ergonomically pleasing of all autoloading centerfire pistols. It is also one of the strongest, most accurate and most recognizable service pistols ever made. Georg Luger developed his famous pistol in 1898-1899 (starting with the Borchardt/Luger transitional pistol). The Luger is, essentially, a much-improved Borchardt type pistol, which was itself based on the toggle action concept used by Sir Hiram Maxim in the world’s first practical machine gun. Soon after the Luger was developed, a small batch (1000) was made for testing by the United States Army as the M1900 American Eagle, chambered in 7.65mm Luger with a 4 3/4” barrel. Another 5000-7000 American Eagles were made for commercial sales in the United States.

This pistol is one of the later batch of Model 1900 American Eagles made, in 1902-1903. It is chambered in 7.65 Luger with a 4 3/4” barrel, and has all the correct markings for a Model 1900 American Eagle. All of the serial numbers on the pistol match. The 1900 Model has some distinctive features which will jump out to those familiar with the more prevalent 1908 model (P.08). The flat-top bolt, grip safety, and scalloped, clip-secured cocking knobs are the most obvious. With the grips removed, you can also see that the recoil spring is a leaf spring rather than the later coil spring. This gives the pistol a distinctive appearance even among other Lugers

The pistol is in Very Good condition with about 80% of its finish remaining. The bore has light erosion and minor pitting, but the rifling is still fairly strong. In all, this pistol shows honest wear, it could even be considered light given the guns age of more than 120 years. This is a fantastic piece for the collector of Luger Pistols. Please see our photos and good luck!