German Lugers

473 Views 7 Replies 5 Participants Last post by JR, Sep 8, 2008

soarkrebel

Discussion Starter · Sep 8, 2008

Do we have any Luger experts?

My wife's Grandfather passed away and was a retired Army Officer. He was on Gen. Bradley's staff during WWII. He had a German Luger made in 1916 that is in good shape.

The kicker is how He got the gun. He wrote a letter about He got it that goes like this.
At the end of the war He was stationed in Germany and another Officer approached him about acquiring luger.
Germans were hurting after many years of war and provisions were needed. He traded some food items and a cured ham for the gun.
The gun was shipped back to the states and for all these years only cleaned and stored.
Hasn't been shot since WWII!!

He was a retired Col. and wrote the letter for the gun.

There is no way I or my father in law would sell it because of the sentimental value but what do you value something like this.
Insurance??

I suspect the history of the gun in writing increases the collector value alot.

I don't have the gun yet but was curious what some of you figured it was worth........

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flintknapper

· #2 · Sep 8, 2008

If you can find a safe that will fit inside another safe....

Problem with Lugers is you can park a $700.00 Luger next to a $30,000.00 one and most of us won't be able to tell the difference.

A WWI era marked Luger with written provenance (a fancy word that simply means you know where it came from and how you got it) could be closer to the higher end of the scale than the lower, but there are many increments in between. There are many books out there that could help you with "relative" pricing (this one's worth more than that one, etc.) but for a definitive price in today's market you may need an apraiser.

I work in a museum and I am forbidden to participate in appriasals. If I were you I'd start looking into some Luger collectors books and quietly start some serious research. Early Lugers are works of art....!

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John Stiles

· #3 · Sep 8, 2008

Try: Antiques Road Show:skeptical::razz::biggrin:

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flintknapper

· #4 · Sep 8, 2008

I just dug out the reciept for dad's nazi proof-marked, 1941 stamped, matching numbers (except the magazine, that would be like winning the lottery), so tight (I thought it was fake) Luger he bought 15 years ago, he gave $700.00 for it. I'll bet it don't hold a candle to yours, though, just some food for thought.

P.S., we shoot this one all the time, sure raises eyebrows at the range! :biggrin:

The sights are terribly small, but terribly precise. The gun shoots to point of aim, and the trigger is very light. A joy to shoot.

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shawnee_creek

· #5 · Sep 8, 2008

flint

Which museum do you work at?

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JR

· #6 · Sep 8, 2008

My grandpa had took one off of a dead German officer when he was overseas. When he was on his way home he sold it to another soldier for $80. My dad ask him one time why did he sell it? Grandpa told him that at that time $80 was alot of money. Almost 3 months pay!

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soarkrebel

Discussion Starter · #7 · Sep 8, 2008

JR said:
My grandpa had took one off of a dead German officer when he was overseas. When he was on his way home he sold it to another soldier for $80. My dad ask him one time why did he sell it? Grandpa told him that at that time $80 was alot of money. Almost 3 months pay!

That was a lot of money at the time. This one was traded for a ham basically and food in Germany was scarce.

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JR

· #8 · Sep 8, 2008

soarkrebel said:
That was a lot of money at the time. This one was traded for a ham basically and food in Germany was scarce.

It sure was. I can't say that I would blame my grandpa, if someone offered me 3 months pay for a gun I would probably take them up on the offer too. :biggrin:

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