pawn shop Lugers
 

i found 2 lugers in a local pawn shop a 1917 DWM and a 1918 erfurt. the 1918 was all matching as far as i could tell but with aluminum mag base and vopo grips. no import marks but made in germany. 4 digit serial. i know nothing about lugers other than firing one 30 years ago. i put the 1918 on layaway for $800. it looks to be about 70% with some surface rust. any help you can give me would be great. thanks ken

Ken welcome to the forums.

This FAQ thread will get you jump started.

http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthread.php?t=13121

Post pics when you get her home.

i went back and looked at it again today, no made in germany markings. how can i tell which caliber its in? 9mm or 7.65? thanks ken

If a #2 pencil will fit down the barrel, it is 9mm.

ok now i got to buy a pencil!

update got it for $535. should get it home in a week or so

... :eek: ...unbelievable...I mean, that an Erfurt would go for that...little...

not really. alot of pawn shops will base the price on what they loaned on it and the interest for three months , 90 days without interest payments , means it goes out for sale or PFI, pulled for inventory, if 200.00 was loaned on it @ 20 percent per month, meaning there is 320.00 total in the item, if you retail it and it sells for around 500.00 you have doubled. most pawn shops will use a code , so they can tell what they have in it, this can vary from one shop to the next, it will usualy be on the tag above the price , as alpha letters. Now how do i know this , i have owned two pawn shops and currently do firearms repairs for several in the area, most of the times the prices are negotiable, usualy retail prices are about double of the loan plus the interest, hope this may be of some help, regards Dan

i actually feel i got a great deal from there. this shop has some greta deals from time to time.
i have since met the man who pawned it. suposedly a Veitnam bring back and it has vopo grips. i cant wait to bring it home and learn more.

Gee....maybe I should start checking out pawnshops.

It can be hit or miss, for the most part .anything of real value will get picked off, by the staff or sold to the inside circle of repeat buyers, there are 14 shops around this area, it is rare to ever see a luger of any quality ever make it out for open sale, but it does happen. right now there is a fairly nice artilary out for sale, but it happens to be for sale at one of the shops that i am not on good terms with, this does happen in this kind of bussiness, it has to be a bit over priced for what it is , it has been out for sale for over a month.

i have to many hobbies firearms motorcycles and nikon camera's a luger is on my bucket list so right time and place. i bought a Lnib sprinfield trp from the same shop last year for $500!
it's a keeper also.

Can you send me a phone of the PAWN shop , maybe I can get the other gun ?

Interesting, All my time in the republic of viet nam and asia i ran into alot of firearms, never a luger, but it was french indo china, anything is possible. In the pawn shop bussiness you run into alot of odd things and the stories you get with them.

sometimes some of the people you hire are not the most knowledgable about firearms. some days you are just happy no one got shot. you would not believe the number of guns brought in loaded.

The local pawn Shop has two holes in the ceiling!

One shop i use to work at, had bullet holes in the ceiling, interior walls, front window and a slug in one side of the coke box and a near miss on the sign that said your gun must be unloaded before entering,where ever there are firearms there will those that are unsafe.

the 1917 was sold allready and i have the 1918

Vietnam bring back?!? Wow! I have a buddy that brought back a K98 from Vietnam; sadly someone stole it years ago.

One story said Ho Chi Minh asking Soviet Union for arm assistance, and Soviet sent him lots of WWII captured MP40 submachine guns. Facing those C&R, Ho was so angry and ordered his men "move them to the museum".... in front of the Russian representative.