American Handgunner – March / April 1985

In 1907 a .45 caliber Luger ran through U.S. Army trials at Springfield Armory, then vanished, while its surviving sibling later sold for $494,500 as collectors argued over whether it was ever at the tests. That unfinished quality is the whole draw of prototype and pre-series guns, and this guide sorts out the terms, the provenance problems, the legal flags, and the prices real examples have brought.