This is a beautiful example of a cased DWM Model 1900 Commercial Luger pistol with the gold inlaid initials "PVC" on the chamber area, which we believe represents the former Mexican President Venestio Carranza. Carranza was born in 1859 into an upper middle-class family in Cuatro Ciénegas in the state of Coahuila. His father had been an officer in the army of Benito Juárez in the turbulent 1860's. In 1893 he and his brothers rebelled against the rule of Coahuila Governor José María Garza and aligned themselves with President Porfirio Díaz, as well as other powerful political officials; one of them being Bernardo Reyes, an important friend of President Portifiro Díaz. Eventually, Carranza who had supported Diaz was not confirmed by him as Governor and so he joined the movement of Francisco Madero, who had called for rebellion after the fraudulent 1910 election. The Mexican rebellion ensued from 1910-1917 and during this time Madero was elected as President. Carranza was rewarded by Madero for his loyalty by appointing him "Minister of War". This infuriated several revolutionaries such as Pancho Villa and Pascual Orozco. In 1913 Madero was betrayed and assassinated by Victoriano Huerta who made himself President. Eventually Carranza joined forces with Huerta and formed an uneasy alliance with Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata and Alvaro Obregón. By the end of 1914 all three turned on each other and by the end of 1915 Villa and Obregon were on the run from the United States and consequently the United States Government recognized Carranza as the new Mexican leader. He was elected President of Mexico in 1917. He was later assassinated in 1920 by his former ally Huerta. The Model 1900 pistol was the first true commercial Luger pistol manufactured by DWM and can be found in the 2,000-19,000 serial number range with this specific pistol being manufactured after the end of their normal production, which would have coincided with this being a presentation pistol and which would have been the correct time frame in which this would have been presented to Carranza, as the DWM factory was instrumental in providing both pistols and rifles to numerous South American countries, including Mexico. Consequently gifts such as these would have been common to high ranking military and political dignitaries. These pistols were initially intended for sale in the U.S. market however in this case it has the large intertwined gold inlaid initials of "PVC". This pistol has all the early correct features such as the long frame and barrel extension, dished toggles with toggle lock on the right side, recessed breechblock, 4 3/4 inch fast tapered barrel, grip safety, no stock lug and no hold-open device. These early Lugers were assembled using all hand fitted parts with the beautiful pre-war high polish rust blue finish and straw colored small parts. The lower safety area is unmarked and polished. It is correctly serial numbered in the commercial fashion with the early "Crown/B, U and G" proofs on the barrel with "Crown/B and U" proofs on the barrel extension, breechblock and toggle assembly. It has one early polished steel magazine with an unmarked wooden base and two spare early Swiss type magazines that have nickel plated bodies with wooden bases that have the small circular inset on each side. Also included with this beautiful Luger is the original unmarked blue takedown tool, pin-punch, brass cleaning rod and a partial box of 7.65 mm Luger cartridges (approximately 35 rounds). This beautiful super rare Presentation Luger and accessories are all housed in a green felt lined black leather covered storage case. The past owner has provided a typed letter that provides some historical background information to include the fact that he originally purchased this specific Luger and accessories in a small gun shop in middle California in 1987 and was told by the gun shop owner that he origionally purchased this pistol from an official of the Mexican Consulate. So the trail of the pistol certainly tracks with the history of the gun. It is suggested that whoever is the successful purchaser of this historical Luger conduct a thorough search of this weapon with any of the remaining Mexican officials or family members of the Carranza family.

Excellent. The pistol retains 85% plus of the original blue finish with minor edge and high spot wear mixed with some thinning on the grip straps. The various small parts retain 70% of their straw colors with slightly more on some of the parts in the protected areas. The grips are near excellent with distinct original checkering showing some minor nicks/dings in the checkering. This Luger has all matching numbers except for the three un-numbered magazines. The spare magazines and various accessories are all very fine. The storage case is excellent plus overall, being well taken care of. This is a fabulous example of an very early DWM Model 1900 Presentation Luger pistol rig.