luger dwm .30 info
 

Hello all, I am brand new to this forum and was told to come here by my carbine forum and 1911 forum, I have the opportunity to buy this luger but don't know anything about lugers except that I have always wanted one, that being said it is serial number 2933 with a cursive R underneath # all parts have 33 marked on them even the top of trigger, the magazine just says germany on the bottom with no number, there is a crown over N in a few places, there are no other marks, the bore is good and so is the overall finish, it is very tight, here are some photos. Any and all help and advice is greatly appreciated.

Looks like a good, honest .30 commercial Luger. The down side is the .30 is much more expensive to shoot, and these models aren't highly collectable, but all Lugers are a prize. If I may ask, what is the asking price?
dju

that is the problem, they do not have an asking price, they want me to make an offer because they don't know either, it was taken in on a pawn and never picked up, not sure how much they have in it and im sure I will never know that. That being said, they don't know what to ask. They are like me and only know that it is a dwm luger. Any idea how much I should offer?

I'd want to get into it for $700 or less. I can predict other estimates coming in at + or - $100. They are a great gun, fun to look at, take apart, study and (occasionally) shoot. But if you want to do a lot of shooting with it, I'd pass on this one because of the caliber.
dju

That being said, they don't know what to ask. They are like me and only know that it is a dwm luger. Any idea how much I should offer?

Since they don't know..offer them $300

One thing you will learn about pawn shops..they know more than they let on. They have to have knowledge of values..it's their business after all. Just start low. See what they come back with. If you can get it for $4-500 so much the better. Like David says..don't go too high. Ammo is 2-3 times what 9MM costs. And when you go to sell it..same reasoning will apply.

Looks like a nice commercial. I would like to see a close up of the suffix. From my angle, it looks like a 'n' instead of an 'r' and an 'n' would make more sense to me.

Thanks for all the help! I am finding this very interesting, here is a close up of the serial number and letter, looks like a R to me but you guys know better what the letters look like. Also here is a closeup of the bottom of magazine, is this magazine correct? and is there a way to know the year of this pistol based on the serial number and markings?

mags correct but was imported individually without a pistol, r would have been in 9mm most likely... thats an n and would have been produced around 1924-25.

what is "straw finish" that I keep seeing referred to.

Strawing might be in the FAQ... But, strawing is where the small parts were heated, much like fire bluing, but only to the part of a yellowish tinge, and this was a natural rust resistance.

Looks like an n suffix to me and mag would be correct.

Thank's for all the help! I am going to offer $300 and see where it goes.

I am glad to see that the information that I gave you on the 1911 forum was exactly what you received here. As I mentioned to you, the area of the country and the availability of Lugers has a lot to do with the price. I hope that you can acquire it for a reasonable price since I feel you will enjoy it as much as we on this forum enjoy our lugers. Good luck, and keep us informed.

thank's everyone for your help I was able to negotiate a good price and now i'm the proud owner of my first luger!!