What is my Luger worth?
 

Hello,

I got this Luger a few month ago but my wife still does not approve it.... :( ....so I have to let it go.

I'd like to get you opinion on the value of the gun.

As far as I can see, it has a mismatched side plate and clip, the rest seem to be matching...as you can see I'm not a firearms guy :burnout:


Please let me know if you need further pictures.


Thanks

Alex

more pix

and the last ones.

Alex, The mismatched sideplate hurts like fingers caught in the fold of a closing garage door.

This pistol would likely be worth $12-1500 if matched..half that with the wrong plate. Maybe $800 as nice as the rest of it looks..

Hello Jerry,

thanks for your reply.
WOW, thats a big impact on pricing....this little bugger plate :eek:


Alex

You asked a collector what it was *worth*...Not what you could sell it for on Gunbroker.com...

I think it's fair to say that with a little bit of salesmanship, you could get that sold for pretty close to the $1200 - $1500 that Jerry quoted... :evilgrin:

Not to a collector, of course...But there are still quite a lot of first-timers looking for a nice condition Luger...And all they need to do is find a matching number sideplate and they'd have a collector's dream!!! :thumbup:

Seriously...You'd do better to sell a mismatched/parts Luger on Gunbroker...Especially a 1938 S/42 Mauser as nice looking as yours... :)

Alex, Note that the side plate for these Mauser Lugers is very hard to match. Mauser stamped the inside of the plate with a number that relates to the first two digits of the pistol's serial number. They stamped the outside with the last two digits. That means that one side plate in 10,000 is correct for a pistol.

They did this because this is a precision fit part, and a critical part of the trigger mechanism.

Marc

And all they need to do is find a matching number sideplate and they'd have a collector's dream..

This could be seen as a highly dispicable and dastardly thing to do...Something collectors like myself see as the worst possible degradation of Luger collecting . The original sideplate belonging to this otherwise fine Luger is gone and the likelyhood of finding the actual one is theoretically possible but so remote as to be unthinkable.

so yes..if you want to bastardize Luger collecting more than it already is for a few more bucks this is the way to go.

And please avoid using " salesmanship" if you attempt this fraud. Something like this would make automobile and time share salesmen everywhere to cringe.

What kind of Luger has a higher WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor)?

The ones they don't know about:thumbup:

I have been told i am a lucky man, that not being married i can do as i please. Or as friends have refered to me " I do what i want , all of the time" One of the last statements that my former wife made to me was "If you buy one more gun i am leaving you" that was over 21 years ago. I think i had one small gun safe then, now there are four and i am looking to buy safe number five. She passed away recently and i am sadened by that, she was a very good person,but never really saw the need for me owning all the guns. Sometimes we tend to have different opinions with our wifes or something like that as best as i can remember.

The first 2 digits of the serial number should be on the inside of the SP, the last 2 on the outside for a 1938. You could look for an armorer's sideplate and make it somewhat more acceptable.

Too bad about the wife, mine is indifferent except that she knows what a Luger looks like. :)

I have traumatized the wife from my buys that now if I say that I bought a gun and she asks how much and its less than $800, she just says, oh....

She notices lugers, broomhandles and Nambu's on movies for me, it is fun. She is not a huge gun fan (although there is one by the side of her nightstand).

Hell my wife has laid claim all my handguns but I get to keep the rifles she dosen't like then

My Wife is actually cool about guns, she doesn't quite understand the whole collector and information research thing. To her a gun is just a tool. She has her own S&W Airlite and knows how to use it. But no other interest past that.

I agree with Jerry about the value,around $800.
Bob

My wife is very supportive. She was a Navy brat, and she and her father got to shoot at most every creature that roamed the earth. She is an excellent shot with rifle and pistol but has difficulties with shotguns, as she is right handed but left eye dominant. Heck, so she's not perfect, but I'm a tolerant guy and I think I'll keep her on for a while. Regards, Norm

Hi Norm,
You might have your wife try a 28 ga shotgun.They are a pleasure to shoot.
My boys started shooting skeet when they were 8 and 10 using a Remington 1100 in 28 ga.
Bob

Hi Bob, She shoots a 20ga 1100 at skeet,and has no problem with recoil, but the left eye dominance problem prevents her from shooting with both eyes open. We've tried masking off the left lens of her shooting glasses, but it's still keeping her scores down. When are you coming back to Boulder, your 50th reunion must be coming up soon? Best regards. Norm

Hi Norm,
Our group from CU will have our next reunion in 2013.
Bob