$2 Million dollar Gun
 

Thought you guys would enjoy this!
A local gun collector discovered he owns the luger George Eastman committed suicide with? He paid less then $500 bucks back in 1972. Very interesting article. I can scan and post the whole article if your interested.
They say George Eastman owned 2 lugers (a matching set) and both are unaccounted for until this one turned up in Rochester. Although they don't give a clear description of the luger other than "it's an early 1900s model" it matches the one in the original police photos.
It is marked under the barrel with a C/B, C/G, C/U, 172,28 and ser. 133
Better check your collections:)
The owner no longer wants to keep the luger because of it's tragic history. Hmmmm, wonder if the $2 million price tag helped with that decision?
Bob
For some reason. I'm having trouble posting a PIC?

Suicide...???
 

Hi Robert,

1. Can you direct some of us (i.e. me) to some documenting article that states Geo. Sr. committed sucide ? This is "news" to me and I thought I read enough luger books (over 65) on the subjuect...

2. WOL's dealer, Ralph Shattuck, has the "Baby" 7-shot luger thought to have been Geo. personal sidearm. This one is photographed in several luger books and here is a photo taken by one of the LF members at a Luger Fest event at Ralph's house a couple of years back :

http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload...lugersbaby.jpg

Regards,

Pete...:typing:

George Eastman
 

Hope this works

George Eastman
 

Another

Quote from article:
Weakened by illness, George Eastman the founder of the Eastman Kodak Co. lay down on March 14 1932 and put a bullet through his heart.
He left behind a note saying "my work is done. Why wait?"

Hey Pete,
Are we talking about the same "George"?

Sorry, Robert...my mistake...I thought I read Geo. Luger in your first posting...my mistake ! Gotta go get my first cup of Java...

Regards,

Pete...:typing:

Bob,

Could you please post--or send me dwightg@pacifier.com --large-bitmap pictures of this article, particularly the photographs? It appears that there is enough information here for a good entry into my early Commercial database, but the resolution of the photos in the Forum are too low to make it all out, thanks very much.

--Dwight

Democrat and Chronicle Luger Article
 

Hi Dwight
Here is a link to the article. http://www.democratandchronicle.com/...WS01/502200338
Ed

Dwight,
If that isn't good enough for you I will gladly mail you the article.
Bob

Bob
I forgot to say Thank You for letting everybody know about the newspaper article. very interesting.
Thanks again
Ed

Article says Ralph Shattuck did the $ 2M valuation...

Another sentence in the article reads as :

"...If you could document it's George Eastman's, there's people out there who would pay some stupid money..."

They should have put "stupid" in bold letters.

I am not sure that George Eastman is a significant enough historical or cultural figure that the pistol that he used to commit suicide would fetch $2 mil.

I think George Eastman's Brownie might be worth more money.

Even if it was documented, what do you think it would bring?

But being realistic and assuming it will never be documented and just a curiosity piece, then how much?

I would guess it might add a couple thousand? More if some idiot wants to display it at a store to bring people in, but not that much. As Geo said, something used by him might be worth more, but something with a gruesome history, more maybe but not to most folks...

Ed

The Luger appears to be in very good condition and has a very early serial number. Assuming that it is in about 98% condition, if it has the early flat button magazine and unrelieved frame: a)if it is Swiss - approximately $9000-$10000; b) if it is commercial - approximately $10000-$12000. With that as a baseline, you could add anywhere from $2500 to $5000 for its role in a high profile newsworthy event. Working in the P.T. Barnum factor, someone might drop $25,000 into it if they really wanted it. Anything over that is insanity...$2M is somewhere out there on the fringes of the universe.

If Teddy Roosevelt's M1902 carbine showed up, that one might just fetch $ 2M...especially with documentation that is impeccable...

Ron's figures are right, with the addition of $ for auction madness (Ron hit it with the "P.T. Barnum factor"). Pete has zeroed in on THE pistol and historical figure, but $2 mil is still unthinkable.