Grandfather's Mauser Luger
 

Hi guys, I have a Luger that I've inherited as of 20 years ago that has been sitting in a safe. I was wondering if somebody could tell me exactly what it is and how much it is worth. It is a 9mm, stamped Original Mauser on top, and oberndorf on the front of the grip frame. It seems there are so many variations of this gun that I assume you'd need pictures to identify it.

For the moment, I can tell you that it is a 4 inch model, I believe a Swiss, and came in a box almost identical to the one in the picture below. The one that I have has another slot in the velvet for a big brass tool of some sort with threads on the end. As well as that tool, there is a bore brush, loading tool, extra magazine, manual, and a target with 3 holes with German writing on it.

I took it to a couple of gun stores today, and although they acknowledged that it was 100% and they'd never seen the wooden case before, they offered me $400. I know it's worth a lot more than that, and I wouldn't even consider selling it for that price, that's what a Keltec would go for. They didn't really know what it was, and had to look it up in a book and just ended up scratching their heads and offering me dirt.

NOT my gun:
http://www.lugerlp08.com/P08_files/image004.jpg

Thank you for the photos of the rig that is "almost identical", but to give you a real evaluation we will need actual photos of the outfit that you inherited. Even without the photos, it is safe to say that the gentlemen at the gun store that offered you $400 should be repeatedly smacked up along side their head with a sock full of wet, used kitty litter and pehaps a couple of piles of doggie doo for good measure. There is no excuse for that kind of low ball offer. In their defense, a lot of gun stores today haven't a clue about collectable guns.

I agree with Tac. Interarms Mauser Parabellum, Swiss 29/70 frame. Probably has an US Eagle on the receiver ring too. Pictures would confirm our suspicions.

As you guys can see, I registered here a while back, and I've only posted here once I knew that I had the ability to take some pictures of the beaut. I'll go do that right now.

Thanks for the fast responces, you got my lazy butt in gear now.

Selling any gun outright to a dealer is going to bring a low-ball price. They want to clear as much profit as possible. And they will often play dumb to keep you from the realization of their motives.

If you were to trade on another firearm, then the offer would be somewhat higher, but not much.

The only way to clear full value would be to sell it to an interested individual or collector.

Alright guys, here are some pictures.

The leather/fake leather box:
http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/423...29smallqw5.jpg
What's inside:
http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/796...31smalljb5.jpg
Front strap:
http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/401...20smallqv2.jpg
Top:
http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/620...26smallas4.jpg
Left side:
http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/111...22smallaw0.jpg
Safety:
http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/249...27smallpu2.jpg
Target:
http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/597...34smallid7.jpg

I have an image of the right side of the gun, but it has the serial number on it, I'll edit it and post it if need be. Actually, I'll just go edit it now. I also have much larger copies of these images, I've resized these to 1/4 of the originals.

Here she is.
http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/591...21largeht5.jpg


Well, I trust everybody on a gun forum. It's not pro-gun people I'd ever have to fear.

Oh and anybody feel free to take whatever image they want and use it for whatever purpose they want. I just cut the image of the safety down to 1280x1024 to use as my desktop, it looks great.

Hi,

A nice gun, with a nice original Mauser presentation case (most came in rather bland foam boxes with cardboard lids).

The gun is an early example (1970-1972) of the post-war Mauser Parabellum, made by Mauser in Oberndorf. The guns were made using the Swiss design as a guideline, therefore they have the look and feel of the Swiss-made Parabellums, although not a snippet of Swiss tooling was used by Mauser.

The gun's serial number is also visible on the target, so no need to conceal it :) The 10.00... visible on the frame is only a prefix that says it's 9mm (10).

Needless to say this ain't a $400 piece of kit...

Well thanks for the info and kind words, guys. I guess the number is out. *shrug*

Anybody that would have known that it was on the target is trustable anyway.

Patrick, At the risk of Ron lurking in dark corners with an arsenal of kitty litter socks...

The box does not appear to have originated with the pistol. The box will accomodate a longer barrel.... not that this means anything but your cleaning rod is not for a 4" pistol but a 6". Both of these lead me to surmise that this is a box put with another pistol. It would seem to have a higher value as a box for a 6" pistol.

I would sell the box on Ebay to get the maximum value out of it and advertise it for a Mauser Navy. My guess is the box might bring around 300.00 or much more..who knows?

The pistol value is something I know nothing about. As a shooter it would be around $600-700. If you found someone wanting this style and condition it could sell for $1000-1200

Jerry Burney

Well in the stock picture I got off of http://www.lugerlp08.com/, that same case is shown with a 4" in it. Not to say that you're wrong, because I obviously am just clutching at strings here.

If the gun is NIB shape as it looks then the price would be more like $1250-1500. The box does look correct to me. The box does add to the overall value. Please do not separate.

Jerry

The presentation cases were of a 'one size fits all' design.

It is not NIB, it has been fired by me. I have fired it maybe 100 times at most. The finish is 99%, there is some wear at the back of the receiver where I believe the toggle must smack. Fantastic condition, yes. New, no. I should have mentioned this earlier, seeing as I asked for help with it's value.

Patrick, Me wrong? Since I know next to nothing about these reproduction pistols I was just speculating. I thought the Mauser Company might have carried on the traditions of the turn of the Century craftsmen and made a box that fit the pistol.

Gerben has set me straight!

Well in the stock picture I got off of http://www.lugerlp08.com/, that same case is shown with a 4" in it.

It also has a much different and shorter cleaning rod.

At any rate...it is desirable to those who like this sort of thing. I am positive it will be snapped up should you list it in the For Sale section!

Jerry Burney

Jerry,

Things got complicated when both Mauser and Interarms used their own box designs and providers.

Wow! Lugers, almost any type, cannot go wrong with $400, IMO. Local stores here list used S&W Model 19 (gun only) for $600+.