Your opinions please
 

Hello all,

New owner of a 9mm Luger super excited to add to my collection. I do not have a lot of knowledge about Lugers and was hoping for you all to tell me about this one.

There is very little wear on the gun, all the serial numbers that I can see match (no serial number on mag). I was told it was brought back from world war one. From there it was hocked to two other owners before I got my hands one it.

I can post additional pics if you need to see something in more detail. I look forward to reading you comments.

Thank you in advance!

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Ok, I will say what I know.
It's a Luger.....

Ok,

I like it. Barrel is real shiny but if all original finish and matching probably worth $1,000 to $1,200
Maybe that will get them going...

Hello Jeremy, and welcome to the forum.

Looks like a nice military Luger in original finish from WW-I. When you disassemble it you can verify that it is all matching.

The aluminum based magazine is from a later period. Photos of it (including sides and base details) will help identify it.

The finish, including the straw, looks to be in very good condition. Perhaps 95% finish and 80% straw from the photos. You need it in hand to make a closer judgement.

Be very careful when disassembling the grips. In particular the left one (which will easily break up by the safety if you lift it too far off the frame before sliding it away).

You can find retail values on the online websites that sell Lugers. Simpson's Ltd. is one...

Any specific questions?

Marc

Congratulations on your first Luger!

It is a late WWI 1918, 'e' block. It is in very nice condition except for the grips being dented up. I would say it could be 96%+ blue.

The grips are walnut, which is not usual for this year. Are the grips are numbered to the gun? (I will guess no, but I could be wrong)

How do know it's 9mm? By the 8.82 on the barrel.

The flat springs should be bright blue - you can clean them gently to see if they brighten up.

Is there a halo on the SN under the barrel? Shine a bright flashlight on it at a 45 deg angle and you should see a lighter outline around the numbers.

- Geo

that is my point many times - people say, wow some guys post a lot - and its because so many people,lurk and aren't willing to stick their necks out a bit I think :evilgrin:

as above, some additional pictures would be good - and welcome to the forum.

So far I am the only one that stuck my neck out on the value and I don't know ****
:)
And why is the barrel so evenly shiny? Polished a bit too much? It is also lighter.
It's a nice one. Probably a little nicer than the one I just bought for $1,000
Just not crazy about the lack of bluing on the barrel.

Its possible the "lack of bluing" on the bbl is just the lighting. I had the same thing happen in some of my pictures.

Or maybe the bbl is brand new!

Hi Jeremy, welcome to the forum. Hey, I tried sticking my neck out yesterday, but gave up after I lost my composition--twice. I think Marc has it summed up pretty well, and details from others will very likely follow as this thread lives on.

One sign that the finish is original is that the end of the toggle axle retaining pin, which is visible atop the left toggle knob, is "in the white"--properly unfinished. Another sign is the overall look of the lines, edges, and surfaces, which is shown by the pics to be straight/sharp/flat--so this pistol has not been buffed prior to a refinish. Another place to check for this condition is inside the top of the frame, where the areas that do not show when the pistol is assembled should also be unfinished.

Your pistol displays an overall need for a good cleaning with a well lubricated bit of 0000 steel or brass wool-gently, so as not to remove any actual bluing. There are links on this site to videos showing how to dis-and re-assemble your gun. Field stripping is the way to expose the rest of the parts that should be serialized, and to check for what we're hoping is the lack of finish inside. I think it will clean up great, whatever the case.

You've been cautioned to be careful in removing the grips, left one in particular. Here's how to do it. The right one is usually a piece of cake, remove the grip screw and gently raise the lower end of the grip until it clears the frame. The grip should then be pulled downward to extract its top from where it tucks under the frame. The left one is the one that potentially presents a risk for chipping it in the area of the safety lever. Remove its retaining screw and push its bottom up from the frame only enough to clear. Then carefully rotate the bottom of the grip to the left until it is free from the safety lever. Once the lever is cleared, you 'l be able to un-tuck the top of the grip from the frame.

Military pistols were most often issued with grips serialized to their specific guns, so check their backsides for the same two numbers that appear elsewhere.

Now that I look again, the barrel appears like it may not even be rust blued. And the front sight blade is fire- blued - that would not match the condition of the rest of the gun. Barrel almost looks like it belongs to a WWII pistol with the high polish finish. Or it could all be from the glare/light. Really impossible to tell from these pictures, need pictures taken with indirect lighting.

Jeremy - can you show a picture of the witness strike (chisel mark) under the barrel?

- Geo

Thanks for all the comments folks, I will get some more pics up today.