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Old 06-22-2011, 03:01 PM
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SW CQB 45 SW CQB 45 is offline
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Default German Luger....any experts on board?

I was contacted by a former boss who was interested in bidding on a estate auction where they will sell a

1937 German Luger 9mm and indicates all numbers match. the top is marked S/42

there is plating tarnish/corrision and thinning on the trigger with blueing being exposed on the trigger. the front sight is chromed too.

he was wanting to know what price range should he stay at.

since I have ZERO time behind a Luger....I began to educate myself.

For one thing....this gun appears chrome plated. from what I could find....original Lugers left the factory with a blued finish.

was there ever an option for a factory chrome finish or will this gun be a refin. job?

in standard terms, on the modern ejection side of the gun (HAHAHA....ejection on the top on this gun), there are three what I call proof marks in the shape of a,

eagle with spread wings & two numbers underneath, a smaller eagle with spread wings & two number underneath and what appears to be an upper torso of a stick person with wings.

do these proof marks if they are proof marks signify anything?

From my limited knowledge of the Luger, I can say this is not an arterilly model and there is nothing significant about this model.

thanks in advance

Last edited by SW CQB 45; 06-22-2011 at 03:07 PM.
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Old 06-22-2011, 03:27 PM
sar4937 sar4937 is offline
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There is a very good Luger forum. I'm not sure whether I can post a link without getting in trouble. I believe that the trigger should be a straw color. There are a lot of things to learn, or their value is low.
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Old 06-22-2011, 03:45 PM
feralmerril feralmerril is offline
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Almost all "experts" will tell you a nickle or chrome plated luger never left the factory. Yet I had a friend that I worked with that was a canadian solider in world war two that claimed he had one. His story was he and some fellow soliders were holed up in a house and he was looking through the window. He said he caught a grenade in his teeth, lost a bunch of teeth, flipped it right back. He said the next morning they found a dead german officer and the nickle luger was in his holster and was still wrapped in some oily or waxed paper from the factory in the holster! He said when he returned he gave it to a brother in law.
Sounds wild, but that was his story, not mine. He died about 17 years ago.
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Old 06-22-2011, 03:53 PM
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If it is good shooting condition I expect it is still in the $400 range though.
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Old 06-22-2011, 04:00 PM
2152hq 2152hq is online now
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The standard answer from collectors and references is that no standard production Luger pistols were mfg with a plated finish.
Some very few special issues were made w/ plateing and/or engraving, etc, but rust blue till the mid to late 1930's then hot salt blue finish on standard production.

'S/42' is a Mauser mfg pistol. The S/42 being a code used on military production pistols for Mauser production. Later changed to '42',,then still later to 'byf'
The dated chamber '1937' is a common variation.
These were standard short bbl military issue pistols.

No 'Artillery Model' Lugers were mfg during WW2 for the German Armed Forces. DWM and Erfurt mfg'rd them during WW1 and many did see use in WW2.

The stampings on the side are standard Mauser military proof marks found on WW2 Luger pistols.
I'm thinking they belong on earlier variations ('G' date guns) and the S42, 42 and byf pistols haveing a slightly different variation in form. But they are Mauser Luger proofs none the less and I could be wrong on the time line. It's been a while since I was in to these.

A plated/refinished Luger of a common variation will usually not bring much money as Luger collectors as most all firearms gatherers like originality. Even as a parts donor pistol, it's value is low as (most?) parts have been refinished. If the magazine is undisturbed, it could be worth $100+ in itself depending on it's variation. Walnut checkered grips the same.

If the overall condition is good and it's shootable,,it could possibly find a buyer most places for around $400 or less.
I wouldn't get into it too deeply.

Last edited by 2152hq; 06-22-2011 at 04:10 PM. Reason: addinfo
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Old 06-22-2011, 04:12 PM
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Lugers never left the factory nickled or chromed. 1937 s/42 is a military P08 made at the Mauser factory. 1936 was the last full year they were blue and straw. Sometime in 1937 in the t suffix range they went to being an all blue gun. The eagle you see are acceptence stamps and should have a 63 under the eagle. $700 would be the absolute tops I would pay for a nickled luger even if it was all matching. Most collectors of Lugers won't even touch a nickled piece and others would think my $700 tops is over generous, but demographics will play a part in Luger pricing sometime.
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Old 06-22-2011, 04:42 PM
k22fan k22fan is offline
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SW CQB .45,

I am absolutely not a Luger expert, but I owned a chrome plated S42 Luger round about 10 years ago so I can't resist jumping in. S42s are one of the common Lugers. When cars all had chromed bumpers every town of any size had chrome plating tanks in an auto repair shop somewhere and WWII surplus stuff was inexpensive. If you can't put 2 + 2 together I'll give you a hint. My brother in law also has a chrome plated S42 that he inherited, and while I had mine a saw a couple chrome plated Lugers in LGSs. Both were priced at $400 which I took to be the going rate but I'm not sure because I bought mine in a one price for two guns deal and parted with it in a gun show trade.

Millions of Lugers were made and surplused plus Hollywood made them famous so Luger stories abound. Hopefully you can believe mine. It's pretty simple: it's damn hard to hit a crow in your orchard with the sun reflecting off those tiny chrome plated V sights and I never could hit one! I guess that gives me some slight expertise on Lugers, and I can warn you that they were fitted too tight to leave room for a layer of bumper chrome. Combine the chrome plating with a Luger's temperamental nature and don't expect 3rd generation S&W reliability.

Gil
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Old 06-22-2011, 05:10 PM
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The German Army never 'issued' chrome or nickeled guns. There are known examples of Lugers that were highly engraved and nickel plated , but these were awards or presentation pieces and should be professionally appraised. German officers could carry personally owned pistols , that they bought themselves , or were handed down. Some may have had them plated , but that would make little sense in a combat arm. Lots of Lugers brought back by GI got plated , ruining their value.

Many such Lugers have acompanying 'war stories' , many of which are highly embellished , if not pure BS.

Years ago , someone came onto the shop and wanted to sell the .45 his father supposedly carried in Korea and Viet Nam. It was a rusty Llama in a worn GI 1911 holster , and no amount of arguing could tell him any different.
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Old 06-22-2011, 05:13 PM
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+1 Gil,Its not uncommon to find 1911's that some G.I. customized in chrome.If they had only known but hind sight is always 20/20.
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Old 06-22-2011, 07:27 PM
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There are books a foot thick dealing only with Lugers. But two things are for sure. 1. No factory nickle plate. 2. Any Luger that is complete and functional is worth $400-500, more if numbers match, more yet if blueing and/or mag is original, much more if magazine is numbered to gun.
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Old 06-22-2011, 08:24 PM
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Holy Mauser Batman.........all good information.

I now feel comfortable about relaying the info.

Thanks again!!!
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Old 06-22-2011, 09:59 PM
mrerick mrerick is offline
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Default A "Shooter" it is...

Many GIs nickle or chrome plated their bring back pistols upon returning from the European WW-II theater.

Unfortunately, this completely eliminates any collector interest in the pistol.

It's considered a "shooter" and, if completely functional, has a value of $400 to $600.

Once a shooter, the value doesn't rise because it's all matching.

It's also not cost effective to try and remove such a finish, since the result still won't be considered collectible.

Collectors of Lugers want them as close to factory state as possible.

Marc
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Old 06-22-2011, 10:05 PM
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A good friend of mine has a Luger given to him by his uncle who picked it up on a German air field in WW2. I don't know if it was picked up as in left behind, or his uncle relieved the soldier of the weapon. It has the original leather holster and 2 mags. Both mags still have the original bullets loaded by the German soldier who donated it. I told him to keep it clean, out of the holster and leave the original bullets in the mags. It's in pristine condition. If I can get it to take a few photos I'll post them.
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