Please help identify P08
 

Hi, I am new here but not new to guns. However, I was passed down in my family a P08 that my Uncle took from a german on the invasion of Normandy. I am looking to find out about the gun and its value. It has a "41" on top of the barrel. All numbers match except the mag. It is in like new condition except for the blueing. See the pics, your comments are appreciated.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/DSC07054.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/DSC07053.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/DSC07052.jpg

Except for the active rust and pitting that I see, your 41 byf is one of the finest Mauser produced Lugers ever made...

It's value is very subjective, but being all matching it is worth at least $1000. Do what you can to clean off the active rust, and keep it well oiled. The grips are particularly fragile on this model, because they are made of bakelite that is over 60 years old... I would remove them CAREFULLY, clean them and put them away... buy some reproduction grips to keep on the gun.

What outfit was your Uncle assigned during the invasion of Normandy? My father was in E Co, 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division.

Hi John,
Thanks for the feedback. I believe my camera is giving the illusion of rust. The color of the rust colored areas are actually blackish/dark grey in person. It only shows up as rust colored on my camera. I have taken more photos to provide more detail.

My father who gave me the gun said the "bluing wore off over the years from family handeling the gun". I will have to ask my Dad about my Uncle. I believe my Uncle was Army but will double check. The story is my Uncle killed a German officer and took the gun and his uniform. My Father served on the third Marine Division on Guam and Iwo Jima. He saw both flags go up on Iwo. Here is a pic of him last year.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/IMG_0001.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/DSC07499.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/DSC07497.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/DSC07494.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/DSC07493.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/DSC07491.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/DSC07487.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/DSC07486.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/DSC07485.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/DSC07484.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...s/DSC07483.jpg

PS, the mag is an FXO. What does that mean and does it affect the value?

It is really too bad nobody over the years took care of the blue finish on this Luger. The value is seriously effected by it's current condition.

It should have a bakelite bottom mag similar to the grips. They are fairly easy to find.

Joe

It looks like the blueing has been polished off and it is down to bare metal !
Is that the case ? If so it will be prone to rust if you don't keep it well oiled . I wonder if one of the "experts" would be able to re-create the original finish without spoiling it ?

Well that is too bad about the bluing... but it has sentimental value to you. I guess it wouldn't be that bad to have it reblued... I mean considering it has no finish left anyways.

Still nice in its own way, thanks for sharing.

PS... why bother to take the grips off, those don't look that fragile. I would think as long as you are careful they will be fine.

Yes, there is an appearance that the gun may have been buffed. Will having the bluing restored impact the value either way? Or am I best off leaving it as is. Your comments would be appreciated.

Thanks.

tac,
With all due respect, your tone and comments are not appreciated and unwarranted. Please refrain from participating in this thread moving forward. :bigbye: :bigbye: :bigbye: Your anticipated cooperation is appreciated.

Comments from others are still welcome.

Hello again,

I think to get it reblued wouldn't be a bad idea. What are your future plans with this pistol? Is it going to be kept within the family?

I do not know how much it costs to get a pistol like this reblued, but even if it is expensive I would still suggest doing so.... if it is going to be kept for yourself... and if you know the history behind it, it will have way more sentimental value than what you could sell it for. Since the Luger did not cost you anything, why not invest a little into it. Get it done professionaly.

Nice Luger... after all it is matching. And the history behind it is very cool to know. Enjoy it.... by chance do you still have the uniform. I am a German militaria collector and would love to see it.

Cheers,
Rylan

Hi Rylan,
Thanks for your thoughts. I plan to keep passing the gun down through the family. One of my cousins has possesion of the uniform and I have not been in touch with them for some time.

Thanks.

Guys, peace.... just a gun. :rolleyes:

Kipp, a stupid question here. I saw deep fingerprint on right of the receiver. Is that on the metal (how could that be possible), or it's my illusion, it's just gun oil?:confused:

For me, this looks like a shooter.

Sorry to say..
But unless my eyes are way off after an eye surgery I had last week; the safety looks to be '25' or '26?

I'm really not sure.. But if so, the "All numbers match except the mag" sentence you wrote, also brings down the Normandy story to a more questionable level for me. The 'blueing worn off by family' does not help I'm afraid..

My old eyes can't find any place in the photos that show the marking on the safety. Where did you see that? :confused:

Ray, I was thinking of the safety notch that holds the sear bar. It may be 13, but looks 25

Now I see it. The safety was off in all but the first photos so, I missed it. It does look like a 25. Maybe the owner will come back in and confirm or dispel.

That would be from me and the oil.

Hi, I have confirmed it is a 13. From what my father explains, the gun has changed hands in the family a few times and was not properly cared for in terms of finish and such. Keep in mind this is a family pass down vs. collectable gun owners changing ownership. To me it appears someone wanted to polish it and stopped when the almost had the bluing removed. All of the family who had the gun prior to my dad have since passed.

kippjones,

No matter how the gun looks, it is now part of a family tradition and should be regarded an heirloom. Leave it as is and write down its history for future generations. You're just the present caretaker of an important piece of history. Like this:

http://thomp1928.proboards107.com/in...play&thread=17

Balder

Dear Kippjones,

You are a welcome addition to the Lugerforumâ?¦ we always welcome new Luger enthusiasts whether they own a Luger, or just like them. You wonâ??t find a friendlier gun forum on the internet. We have internationally known experts who are proud members of this forum who constantly dispense their opinion at no charge on items brought to their attention. I consider it a privilege to be able to post here on this forum.

I have a few additional comments now that you have posted your photos.

I have considerable experience in taking old rusted guns that were not properly cared for and restoring them to â??shootableâ?� conditionâ?¦ and I have owned, collected, traded and worked on Lugers for almost 50 years. Your â??newâ?? Luger bears the marks of such a necessary cleaningâ?¦ just as TAC said above.

I have moderated this forum for over 10 years. I take the responsibility of maintaining civility and order in all discussions on this forum very seriously.

I personally found nothing that resembled a â??flameâ?� or the â??toneâ?� that you referred to in your criticism of TACâ??S comments which by the way, were factual. Bluntness in reply is not a â??toneâ??, it is simply an expedient in the typed form of speech intended to get the point across. â??Toneâ?� is a characteristic of the spoken word, which cannot be correctly interpreted with any measure of success by reading the words someone has typed.

I am not sure why you seem so sensitive about input that YOU requested, but when you post a question in a public forum, especially in an international public forum and request input on a firearm, you should be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. It is now I who request that in the future that you not shoot the messenger who bears factual bad news.
---that said, letâ??s put that behind us all and here are my comments about your â??newâ?? Luger.

This Luger, regardless of how many times it changed hands in your family absolutely did not have itâ??s finish worn off by handling. The blue finish was intentionally removed (obviously by some member of your family) with a wire wheel to remove the preponderance of rust that had accumulated over itâ??s entire surface because it had been neglected for an extended period of time in an area that was too moist for a gun that wasnâ??t properly lubricated for the environment. The swirl marks in the bare metal finish are unmistakable.

The value of your once finely finished Luger pistol has been severely downgraded by allowing it to rust, and subsequently removing the rust with the wire-wheel. It may be a family heirloom, but it is now a shooter class Luger, not a collectors item any longer. I place itâ??s value at about $500-600 dollars, instead of the $1000 to 1200 that it would have been worth if it had not been neglected over time.

If you want your heirloom to be â??prettyâ?�, then by all means have it refinished if you wishâ?¦ itâ??s your gun.

I completely disagree with byfMostlyMatching about the use of the original grips, because the grips are 60+ year old bakelite and are extremely fragile. They still are a collectorâ??s item because the finish on them has not been fooled with, and they are not cracked. If you wish to shoot the Luger with these grips, you are risking grips that are currently worth over $200, and once cracked, their value will be reduced to nothing and there is no way to repair themâ?¦ again that is your option.

Unless you keep this bare steel gun constantly bathed in oil or some other rust inhibitive, it will continue to grow active rustâ?¦and continue to lower in value.

If you have any other questions on the specific technical details of the manufacture of your Luger, you have only to ask and someone, including TAC, or myself will likely answer you if they know the answer.

Treasure the life of your father, we owe his generation a debt we can never repay... he is also irreplaceable... I lost my WW2 hero two years ago, and miss him more than I can put into words.

I look forward to your reply.