Luger Values
 

I have been interested in lugers for about the past year or so. I picked up my first luger (1918 erfurt) for $500.00 from a friend because it would not fire. I took it apart and the firing pin was inside the frame by the grip. I got it working in a short period of time and consider it to be a lucky buy. However as I have been reading this forum for the past few months I see many of the seasoned collectors value "shooters" at $400-$600 or so. However I have never seen a luger at a gun show, store , pawn store or on gunbroker etc.. for less then $750.00 in horrible condition. Where do these gems live? The posts I am talking about are from the past 2 months or so. Are they just out of date on the prices or do they know where to get lugers at that price.

I personally think there is a lot of wishful thinking vs. the real world. While I have found minty original Weimar police Lugers within the last year for well under 1k, this is not the norm, and not a basis to post here on LF, that I am will not to pay over that, or that all encountered over that price are out of value range.....if you luck into a shooter at $400 so much the better. And we may always be comparing apples to say a differed type of apple, what you see here being said that it was a $400 gun, may not favorably compare to the one you saw at $700...its a tough thing finding a Luge at the best deal, its a thing of time and looking around

To clarify a bit I would be referring to a 1912-1918 luger that was reblued and was mismatched. Almost all Reblues with matching numbers are around $750-900. I still have ever to see a luger for under $650.

I think also we are trying to keep the price down, for ourselves and others.

Five years ago when I first got onto the forum folks were saying $350-$450, and prices have steadily gone up.

Much depends on what you are looking for.

Beat up piece of "art", well, most of us won't pay over $400, IF THAT....

A chromed / nickled gun most folks won't pay more than $350-$400 for one...

A reasonable shooter but all matching, I paid $600 recently for one....

One thing to remember, lots of these "seasoned collectors" have collected literally for many years, so many people know them as the "LUGER Guy" and guns come to them... Since they see guns and thus sell / trade up all the time, they are willing to pass on not as nice guns or not think much about offering $400 and then reselling it for $600...

The most important thing said a second ago was, they are willing to pass on not as nice of guns.

Ed

Prices continue to go up like everything else. Three years ago I got bit by the luger bug. I searched high and low around Indianapolis and in Illinois for a shooter for around $500.00. Long story short, very few lugers and the lowest priced guns were in the range of $600 to $750.00. Being a newbie I wasn't even sure what I was looking at. I now know that a few of the guns I stumbled upon were Russian reworks and mismatched reblued guns. As it turned out my money was burning a hole in my pocket and I found an all matching reblued 1918 DWM at the Big Indy Gun Show that comes around every 4-5 months. No price on the gun. I asked the price after looking it over. He said $450.00 and I said sold. The gun is not beat up, original grips and the blue job is pretty good. To this day I know I probably could have got it for $400.00 but I have yet to see another one, even in poor condition, for anything near this price. I now have read books and have learned a ton of info from this great forum. With this additional knowledge I continue my search for my next luger. Happy luger hunting!!!!

Im finding the searching a large part of the fun. clint

Clint...it is the hunt that makes it fun

You're right, most 9mm shooter in the stores are now going for $600 and more. So finding lugers to part out is also getting tough. This past weekend at a local show, I was able to pick up a matching, but not nicely finished, 7.65mm 20 commerical for $350. Before I even got it home I was able to sell the top half, for more than I paid for it. TH