1917 Artillery Luger Pics - Reblued?

George Anderson · 06-25-2004, 08:57 AM

Frank H, I see nothing wrong with the lug as far as pitting goes, just the lack of wear.

As to value, I too have a reblued 1917 artillery. I bought it a few years ago on gunbroker because it had red nine grips. It was almost "in the white" when I got it but it appeared that the bluing had been removed chemically. No buffing. All parts were original and matched to the pistol except the left grip. I paid $800 for it.

I arranged with Ted Green to have it reblued and off it went. I believe I paid between five and six hundred bucks for Ted's salon work. As I told Ted at the time, my only complaint was that it looked too good. His response was that that's the way it's supposed to look. I couldn't argue with him on that so I commenced to shooting it and lugging it around naked in a holster.

A typical outing would be about two trommelmags through it and 5-8 regular mags. Great fun. Now back to the question of value.

I decided to sell the pistol and put it out on my table at a couple of gunshows with a $2200 tag on it. A friend asked why the hell I would sell my shooter and what would I replace it with. I took it off the table and stuck it back in its holster. It would cost at least that much for me to replace it with a comparable LP08.

If you enjoy your pistol, you did alright. As things are going, should you decide to sell it in several years, you will probably be able to recover your cost.

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06-25-2004, 08:57 AM	#16
George Anderson Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: VA Posts: 3,592 Thanks: 1,773 Thanked 2,531 Times in 788 Posts	Frank H, I see nothing wrong with the lug as far as pitting goes, just the lack of wear. As to value, I too have a reblued 1917 artillery. I bought it a few years ago on gunbroker because it had red nine grips. It was almost "in the white" when I got it but it appeared that the bluing had been removed chemically. No buffing. All parts were original and matched to the pistol except the left grip. I paid $800 for it. I arranged with Ted Green to have it reblued and off it went. I believe I paid between five and six hundred bucks for Ted's salon work. As I told Ted at the time, my only complaint was that it looked too good. His response was that that's the way it's supposed to look. I couldn't argue with him on that so I commenced to shooting it and lugging it around naked in a holster. A typical outing would be about two trommelmags through it and 5-8 regular mags. Great fun. Now back to the question of value. I decided to sell the pistol and put it out on my table at a couple of gunshows with a $2200 tag on it. A friend asked why the hell I would sell my shooter and what would I replace it with. I took it off the table and stuck it back in its holster. It would cost at least that much for me to replace it with a comparable LP08. If you enjoy your pistol, you did alright. As things are going, should you decide to sell it in several years, you will probably be able to recover your cost.