Vanity: advice wanted from Freepers about valuing/selling German Luger/holster

[HGSW0904]

My father's father served in WWII, and brought home with him a German Luger (with holster). My father wondered how he'd go about finding its value, and I told him I'd try to see if I could get some answers here.

So...any ideas on where to take it or what to do to find the value? Or, suggestions on how to sell it?

Thanks!

[smokingfrog]

http://www.durysguns.com/sell

[jboot]

My, you've gotten a lot of advice. Here's mine. Lugers are priced all over the place. A rare Luger in good condition is just shy of priceless, but most Lugers aren't that rare. An average, working Nazi-marked Luger with matching parts and an intact hoster will fetch most of a grand from the right collector. A below-averge one or a mismatched one will get between $300 and $500. Were I you, I'd get a dealer to appraise it. Luger identification and valuation can be a murky proposition, and it is possible for someone to take advantage of you.

I've got a run-of-the-mill Mauserwerk Luger in below-averge condition. It appraised for $350. Not exactly an investment. So I recently had it rebuilt inside and out. It turned out gorgeous and is a fine shooter.

[Charles Martel]

Just curious - who did you have do the work on your P-08? I have one that is similarly unremarkable that I’ve considered having refurbished.

[Armedanddangerous]

Get yourself some 32 acp ball ammo. Practice with that and load it with Cor Bon DPX in 32. That will give the round a little extra Ooomph.

[Lando Lincoln]

Finding its value is one thing. Selling it would be a sin - unless you don’t know where your next meal is coming from (so to speak).

[MHGinTN]

Wow! Just wow! Would be a very nice companion to my WWII 1911 which has been nickeled and has Pacmeyer grips ‘cause I use it regularly.

[Charles Martel]

...my father is not much of a firearm enthusiast. It’s taken me years to convince him he needs a weapon for self-protection. I would love to have it as a piece of history, but it’s not mine nor is it up to me.

I think the least your dad could do is give you the right of first refusal before selling it to someone else.

[P8riot]

fugedaboudit

[HGSW0904]

Here’s an update:

It’s a 1913 Erfurt. It’s got some rust but husband’s going to give it a good cleaning. So far all the marks bear ‘54’, so it seems that it’s all of the same serial number.

Any thoughts?

[jboot]

"Any thoughts"

It sounds like it has the potential to be all matching. There are usually numbered internal parts as well, such as the firing pin. Older Erfurts tend to hold their value a bit better than some other makes, but I wouldn't hazard a guess at what it might be worth. It should definitely be appraised.

Cleaning should be very gentle. I recommend Googling "Stripping Luger Pistol" before beginning. They can be a little tricky to take apart. Metal parts should be soaked overnight in a light gun or machine oil (not WD-40). Afterwards the rust can be dislodged by gentle scrubbing with a lightly oiled, soft cotton cloth. Avoid rust removers of any kind and do not soak the grips or touch them with oily fingers-they are sometimes very sensitive to staining. Severe rust can be removed by careful gentle scrubbing with oiled 0000 steel wool. As a general rule, it is better to leave some rust on the gun than it is to damage any remaining original finish.

Also, there may be parts that aren't blued. These parts (usually the extractor, sear, takedown lever and safety lever) may appear to be colored anything from a strawy gold to a deep maroon depending how the finish has aged. Any "strawed" parts (as they are called) should be treated carefully to avoid degrading the finish.

Good luck to you and your husband. Lugers are wonderful firearms. As they say, "they don't make 'em like that anymore."

[jboot]

My Luger was revitalized by George Rogharr http://gunblue.homestead.co. I sent him my old Luger and a Luger spring kit from Wolff Springs. He sent me back a gun that looks like it just came from Wehrmacht stores. He does strawing and nitring, too. The whole package cost me slightly less than 2 bills.

[Yorlik803]

And never restore it, re-blue it, sporterize it. keep it orignal.
I got a call from my gun dealer who wanted to know if I would like to buy a all matching K98 Mauser, with Waffenmarks.
the guy who had it cut down the handguard and engraved his name on every part of the damn thing. Killed the value...