Question about the Million Dollar Chip
 

Quick Question:

I've gotten acquainted with a guy I met at a gun show several months ago. He had several Lugers for sale (all of which I turned down so I could buy one here on the forum).

Anyway, I went to his house recently and he showed me two DWMs that were virtually in the same condition and the same year. They were also priced the same. He was kind enough to let me take down both pistols (which I enjoyed.)

The only difference I could see between the two guns was the dreaded "MILLION DOLLAR CHIP" missing from one and not the other.

Is there any general rule of thumb for the loss in value due to the missing chip? Both guns are priced under $1,400.

As always, thanks in advance for any information you can share.

Dave in TN.

PS: Have a Happy and prosperous New Year!

Dave, I know some folks will disagree, I do not like the chip, but I would not knock more than $50 off it I was the seller...


Ed

Dave,

An opinion--offered two of the same variation in identical condition, I would certainly take the one without the chip missing.

If I am considering buying a Luger with the chip missing, if the grip is matching, I don't quibble about the flaw.

--Dwight

Good advice!

If I look at the guns again, I'll have HIM take off the grips so I can check the numbers. If both sets match, then I'll consider the one that is un-chipped.

Thanks again for the quick response.

Dave in TN.

Just to note. Should you ever buy one with a chipped grip? Hugh Clark is an expert at repairing the chip. It will be virtually invisible when he is done.


Ron

A little advice...have him remove the right grip of each. You should be able to determine how the left is marked by looking through the frame.

Can Hugh make this fix if I dont have the missing piece?


Thanks,

Chris

Hi Chris,

Yes, he is an master at replacing the wood and recheckering to original. This is one of my Astra 300s. The grip was missing the lobed part of the grip indicated from one arrow point to the other. This is the grip after he repaired it. Even with the naked eye , you cannot see where it was broken from the outside of the grip. The repair is barely visible from the inside.





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



Ron

Its nice to know that Hugh can do such a delicate resoration on the Lugers 'Million Dollar' chip. I have heard a gazillion different responses as to whether or not it can be repaired. I have tried and just gave up after much cussing. The Luger chip is a very small chip and difficult to handle. Its staying power is small. With that said, I would't refuse any otherwise good Luger, if the price was right.
Big Norm

I was not aware of that... This is good information to have... :)

Ron, that repair is great and the gun looks fantastic. Looks like I have a PM to send along to Mr. Clark... :D

Why is it referred to as a "million dollar chip" when someone snaps off the wood under the safety?

Although it's a bit of an exaggeration, it refers to how that chip could be the difference between a perfect gun and a less than perfect gun.

Folks figure that over the years the total of the reduction in price for all the Lugers that have been sold with the missing chip, and there are a lot of them, probably adds up to a million or more.

This may be gun-show urban-legend stuff...but I have heard several times the "million dollar chip" terminology came up, initially, with Sid Abermann's .45 luger pistol...as that luger having the chip and preventing its market value to actually hit the $ 1M price mark...

I just call it the thumb-safety chip...try to use it for a price reduction when buying a luger.

Luger Grip Chip
 

I was of the opinion that the "chip" was in the area of the magazine release button... there isn't any wood near my "safety"! wolf

That is a really outstanding repair on that grip!

Wolf,

I have borrowed a photo file off the Simpsons LTD web site to show the chipped wood just at the rounded cut-out in the wood for the lower portion of the thumb safety lever :

http://forum.lugerforum.com/lfupload/chip_copy1.jpg

You see the wood on the left grip just above the magazine release button chipped out as well...but not as frequently.

I think the "million dollar chip" usually refers to the thumb safety problem area amongst most luger folks.

The Sid Abermann .45 luger pistol has its chip at the location shown in the Simpson LTD photo, posted above...

Hope this helps...

TAC,

I do as you say when removing a left grip, but I also depress the magazine release button when doing so...

I accomplish the task by holding my mouth just right and hoping real hard... :D