Interesting Encounter...
 

At the C&E gunshow in Raleigh NC yesterday, I encountered a seller that had three very nice looking Lugers.

One was a .30 Caliber American Eagle. He had that priced at about $5000...

The other two were priced in the $2750 range.

Both had almost flawless finishes. The light was low in the building, so I couldn't inspect them deeply. The safeties were not blued, yet the 1936 date Mauser didn't look like Rust bluing... I'm no expert. I did not see halos.

Two of the Lugers' muzzles had been re-crowned to a flat shape, and were left in the white.

So, when I asked him for contact information because I wanted to check with friends about what I had seen, he said he was selling them from a group purchased from an advanced collector, and was returning to California. He did not offer to give me contact information.

I walked away, but I am curious if anyone might be familiar with these?

Also, why would one re-crown a Luger in this way? How does this impact value?

Thanks - and sorry I don't have a better description of what I saw. The show prohibits photography...

Marc

I now take a small flashlight with me to gunshows.

You can see in the FAQ other ways to tell if something has been refinished. I have found that a buff and reblue is obvious; these restores by 5-10 people around the USA are almost impossible to distinguish, very frustrating.

A strong small flashlight (I have a small mag-lite at home, and recently have taken to using one of these small super multiple LED lights. You take a known era gun and a "very nice one" and shine the light on t and at an angle, turning it slowly. You should see a patina of rust, and almost it appears you can see under the bluing.

There would not be halo's on WW2 era lugers.


Ed

That's odd...The vendors I visit at my local Rochester NY gun shows are quite ready to hand out cards...I have 4 or 5 scattered around my desk right now...

My local venue has that restriction also. I've never understood it, and no one has ever come up with a plausible explanation...

My policy is: No ID credentials, or contact info---NO purchase. It isn't worth the risk if you don't know who you are dealing with. (The prices sounded high to me as well.)

Marc -

The whole situation does sound very odd doesn't it? And your gut instinct that something is wrong is probably absolutely correct.

"Two of the Lugers' muzzles had been re-crowned to a flat shape, and were left in the white." - Well, that qualifies as having been "messed with" in the opinion of most collectors. Who knows what else might have happened to them. So even with this one single issue they would no longer be considered truly "collectable" (in my opinion).

I like Ed's suggestion about taking a small flashlight along to these shows.

Thanks to all for your insights...

Ed, I am going to start taking a flashlight with me to shows. I've seen the sub-finish patina on my own original finish guns, which helps making the judgement...

John, that policy is exactly why I walked away. The people I have dealt with in the hobby have been straight forward and open.

I help staff a statewide gun rights organization's booth, so was at the show until late in the afternoon. Interestingly, 3 hours before the end of the show that person had packed up and left. Probably nothing sinister here, but it prevented my subsequent look at his wares.

Ron, I wasn't sure how a collector would interpret the re-crown modification, but assumed that it qualified the guns as messed with. I still can't imagine why someone would do it to Lugers in almost pristine condition. My guess was (and seems to be confirmed) that it was part of a rework - refinish - reblue that might have gone wrong in some way. It was also odd that the shape was left squared off instead of rounded.

As to an advanced collector... I think I've found the competent collectors right here...

Marc