Have lugers went up on price in the last few years?
 

I think the last luger I bought was an all matching 1939 in 95% condition. It is very nice 1939 42. I paid 1450 for it, but I see so many asking 2400 and up. Just wondering

it isn't that easy - perhaps for this model and when did you buy it?

prices actually went down a few years ago - a lot and have been rebounding

then it depends on where YOU are looking for prices

I bought it in 2010.

IMHO prices are inching up a bit, but not much. I did most of my buying starting around 2008 when people needed money more than Lugers, and if I could make 20% today I'd be one happy camper.
There continues to be interest, but remember that those to whom Lugers meant the most are moving on and some large collections are coming back onto the market.
I'd say to buy them if you love them, but not to make money.
dju

1939 S/42's are much less common than 1939 42's and that might account for some of the price differential.
Norm

I would say they are about to take a huge price drop here in about 20 years since the main collector demographic are those who are currently retired or close to it. Doesn’t seem that people my age (22) are nearly as interested in these types of things, so sheer lack of demand will likely bring a price drop.

no offense oh young one, but I have heard this same doom and gloom from old collectors for 40 yrs

I have been buying lugers since 1983 and collecting since 2000 - and I have witnessed some major collections come onto the market. I would say that the last 10 yrs I have seen some major collections come onto the market (in excess of 150+ lugers each, with a few in the 250-350 lugers plus hundreds of 'other guns)

I agree, the millennial gen is not interested in the same things. Motorcycles are taking a big hit right now. Its hard to sell a Harley Davidson unless it priced under value. My brother has a 16 Softail heritage with 900 miles on it he bought after his wife passed unexpectedly. He can not get 10900 for it

"lack of interest, ... lack of demand"- It is more likely "lack of money!" :cheers:

"People" 22 are still blessed with raging hormones and chasing members of the opposite sex. JMHO.:evilgrin:

and chasing members of the opposite sex

At least that's how it used to be...
dju

Well, hopefully my chasing days are done and my girlfriend is the last one I had to chase. Otherwise, while I acknowledge that I am much better ahead than many of my peers and age group in terms of how I have managed my finances for the last 10 years, i also note an astonishing amount of disinterest even among my fellow youthful gun owners and collectors. Easily 80% of them who i proudly showed my purchases so far this year have asked if that is a “Ruger” or another type of gun. Still others had no idea what I was showing them at all. Only 3 people could correctly identify them.

Three Lugers have gone thru my hands over the years but that was a long time ago. When I was a young man a Luger was hard to sell for a hundred bucks. You could order them from Ye old Hunter for $39 and an artillery model was $69. Of course prices went way up over time but I do see a trend that I don't like. The younger generation just doesn't care about any old gun, whether it be a Colt SA, Luger or you name it. They like the black guns with long magazines. For pistols they prefer them made of plastic. Can you imagine that one day there will be a museum for classic guns and it is filled with plastic. My last trip to the range was ruined by flying brass and steel. I walked down the line of shooters and everyone was shooting one of the black guns, both rifle and pistols. I didn't see even one bolt gun or single shot, which is my passion. Sad day.

The sheer number of young people that have an education and appreciation for history is a bit less than when I was younger. Still, I have met young people at gun shows that show considerable interest and seem to enjoy discussing firearms from the Luger's period.

I expect that apart from the political correctness that pervades today's social discourse, there is considerable interest in the shooting sports, European history and collecting.

Prices reflect both supply (which - for Lugers - appears stable) and demand. There are a number of places where young people can learn about Lugers today that did not exist when I was younger.

Perhaps as collectors we need to pay more attention to creating displays of history that you can hold in your hand, and start talking about our parent's generation and their experiences during very trying times.

Truth and facts have a way of attracting people that can appreciate the real (as opposed to the virtual) world.

The more people that act on the thought "I'd like one of those" that exist, the higher prices will go.

Some of the blame is on us, I started to get into arrowhead hunting and every where I turned it was silence. I even ran into one guy on a creek trail who told me that the loggers picked up all the arrow heads long ago and that there were copper heads every where.

My experience, offered entirely FWIW.

There appear to me to be two different Luger markets.

One of these markets is for “collector” Lugers, defined as guns with all factory original parts (which includes known/reasonably verifiable service updates/conversions, such as commercial Lugers converted to police use) and at least 60% original finish.

Observed market value (gavel price) of collector Lugers is primarily influenced by variation and within a variation, condition and proper accessories. Region in which the Luger is sold can have a large impact of gavel price. It’s been my observation that the prices brought by these Lugers has, over the last ten to fifteen years, been static or slightly declining.

The other market is for “shooter” Lugers, defined as any Luger that doesn’t qualify as a collector Luger. Gavel prices on these Lugers appears to be driven primarily by cosmetic condition and secondarily by bore condition. Over the last ten to fifteen years I’ve seen gavel prices rise significantly. Over the last five to ten years my experience has been an increase in gavel prices running 10% - 15% a year.

Kyrie

a Luger sob story
 

back about 1952 or 53, my brother-in-law bought a 1918 DWM
in MINT condition as well as the holster, also MINT, for $25.00 We thought 9 mm ammo was too high and bought a Ruger 22 for about $39.00 A guy offered us $25.00 for the Luger. We fliped a coin.
$25 or $30. We won the flip and got $30 for a MINT luger.
I've been crying for years over this. Boo Hoo

Buy the best that you can afford!

Luger prices have reached the level where they are out of reach of casual buyers.
The days of amassing a collection in short order are long gone.
Varieties are dwindling as well as quality of pieces being sold.
No more or at least few gunshows with tables of Lugers.
Some of this will impact interest, especially younger folks.
It has happened with older cars and other things.
You can't sell a used HD because of the way they flooded the market after a long dry spell.
You can go into a shop and get a new bike on instant credit.
Too many used ones lying around that folks still owe a lot of money on.

In 1952 30 dollars was a lot of money. Bill

Yep. You could get a gallon of gas for 20 cents. In a local gas station war my dad bought gas for 10 cents a gallon and filled up a 55 gallon drum he "borrowed" from work. Sure helped with the budget for buying milk, bread and eggs.
Ron

I recall my grandpa telling the story about how as a teenager he could go to the movies and on the way home stop and get a moon pie and RC cola for a nickel.

I bought my first Luger shooter about three years ago and now own 4 shooters. Every time I go to a public range heads turn, including young people. IMO the average young shooter considers Lugers a bit out of reach on price but I think the interest is there.

There have been numerous threads on Luger values which I find interesting. I also enjoy looking at auction pricing. The sum of my anecdotal observations is that IMO Lugers very roughly appreciate at the rate of inflation plus maybe a point or two. Likely they also go up/down with the economy. And of course right now at least modern firearm sales are down since so many people stocked up 2009-16. I have to wonder if the current oversupply of new firearms is depressing prices on all firearms including Lugers at the moment.

The idea that interest in Lugers will taper off as the WWII generation leaves us doesn't make sense to me. The appearance and history of the pistol is IMO just too iconic and unique.

It is really tough to call the "market", when depending on where, how, when, etc. a luger is sold; the same condition shooter can sell for $600 or $1250!
Or a collectible for $2000 or $3000 for similar pistols in the same condition.

What is the market price? a range and it always is.
Sometimes people are patient and get a good price, other times they are anxious, in a hurry, or catch auction fever and pay too much!

Lugers don't linger on the shelf if priced "right". ;)

I don't think that lugers have gone up on prices in the last say 5 or 7 years, mainly because I believe that the number of real afecionados is "diminishing" with the years passing by...
After all vintage guns have never been an investment here, so I say let's enjoy them for what they are but not for their value.
It's sad to say it but in my opinion most of my generation now is collecting things that we couldn't have when we were young, and I wonder if all the interest for vintage guns won't fade away over the next generations; maybe it's me but I can't see many youngish people collecting Lugers, I see more lads longing for Tupperware guns... time will tell.

maybe all our "stuff" will be displayed in typical museums, much like the armor and swords of the crusades...

lord knows when light sabers become fashionable..........!!!

Please, can someone change "went" to "gone"; it makes me crazy every time this thread comes up to view. And that ain't a pretty sight! ;)

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