Collecting Luger Pistols
The German Luger has a characteristic shape, especially its grip and toggle joint breech. In movies, they are often used by ‘bad guys’. Innovative at the time of its introduction in 1900, adoption by certain European nations make it a choice collector’s item. Many were brought back from Europe too, as souvenirs by returning servicemen from both world wars.
The maker’s name, logo or wartime code is often found on the receiver ring, sometimes with the production year. In some cases, the maker’s mark is found on the toggle piece. Erfurt, DWM, Simson, Vickers, Waffenfabrik Berne, Mauser and Krieghoff are names found marked on the rear toggle. National crests may be found on DWM Lugers between 1900 and 1907, marked on the receiver ring. A Bulgarian contract crest was marked on the top of the rear toggle.
Matching serial numbers are desirable, the master number was marked at the front of the frame and corresponding numbers, often in the form the last two digits, were stamped on the barrel, slide, side plate, extractor, grips, trigger bar and hold-open latch. Magazines were also stamped with the serial, at the bottom of the base plug.
Those with a 4-inch barrel are called ‘army’ models, the 6-inch barrel as the ‘navy’ and 8-inch barrel as ‘artillery’. Artillery and naval models were also issued with a detachable wooden shoulder stock with leather fittings. A high capacity ‘snail’ drum magazine was later issued with artillery models.
Illustrated below (bottom of page) are different manufacturers’ markings along with various World War 2 Mauser factory years and code stamps. Shown below are some other national contract markings, indicators of the widespread issue of the Luger pistol at the time.
Lugers were made from 1900 to 1945 in three different countries and three different calibers, .30 Luger, 9mm Luger and rare .45 ACP. Some .22rf kits were made for specific models. The first mass produced model was the .30 Luger caliber 1900 model with a 4.75-in. barrel, dished toggles and a grip safety.
The ensuing 1906 Model Luger was almost identical but the dished toggles were replaced with flattened ones. The 1908 Model (P-08 as it is known today) has no grip safety, a 4-in. barrel and was most often produced in 9mm.
Mauser dated its military Lugers from 1934 to 1942, the 1934 and 1935 dates were coded ‘K’ and ‘G’ since their manufacture was in direct contravention of the Treaty of Versailles. The codes ‘S/42,’ ‘42,’ and ‘byf’ were used to prevent the allies from figuring out who was manufacturing service Lugers. These are the most popular Lugers to collect and the ‘K Date’ is the rarest of WW2 Mausers.
Mauser also made Lugers for police with a variety of dates. Since these did not violate the Versailles Treaty, the Mauser Banner logo appears on the chamber. There are many sub-variations, commercial, navy, differences in proof marks and foreign contracts within the military or police variations.
Krieghoff also made service Lugers that were issued to the Luftwaffe. These were manufactured until the end of the war with 1945 dates being the rarest. Even rarer are commercial examples, some with Krieghoff inscriptions on the left side of the frame. Krieghoff is probably the most respected Luger manufacturer, they made some engraved presentation pistols with carved ivory grips and precious metal plating.
Great War Lugers offer even more variety than WW2. If one collects only 4-in barrel variants used by Imperial Germany, there is a variety of dates from 1910 to 1918 by two different companies, DWM and Erfurt. Earlier dates are harder to find but don’t seem to command the premium prices one would expect. DWM and Erfurt both made artillery models with adjustable sights on the 8-in. barrels. They can be found dated from 1914 to 1918, the 1917 DWM Artillery being most common. DWM made a few thousand 6-in. barrel Lugers with two-position rear sights, dated 1916 and 1917, for the Navy. Many WWI examples have unit issue marks on the front grip straps.
Germany was in disarray between the two World Wars, Lugers issued by the Weimar Republic are evidence of this. Production was forbidden by the Versailles Treaty and the military was in shambles. Lugers issued to the military and police were merely reworks of WW1 pistols. Lugers manufactured by DWM were almost exclusively commercial pistols, primarily for export to the United States. The .30 Luger caliber Model 1920 Commercial was made by the tens of thousands at this time.
When George Luger invented his automatic pistol, he desired it as the service issue for as many countries as possible. So he submitted many different 1900 Model Lugers to potential countries for testing. Many of these countries placed contracts so Luger stamped a symbol on the chamber to represent the country. Swiss contracts have a Swiss cross, Russian Lugers have crossed rifles and so on. Contracts were also filled for the United States, Portugal, Turkey, Persia, Siam and others.
The United States ordered one thousand 1900 Lugers for trials, each had the ‘American Eagle’ emblem stamped on the chamber. However the U.S. Army considered the .30 Luger calibre too small.
In 1902, George Luger submitted twenty-five 9mm Lugers, each fitted with the Powell Indicating Device, for further testing by the U.S. These ‘Cartridge Counter’ Lugers (with a clear window in the left grip showed how many rounds were in the mag) today sell for the equivalent cost of a new Mercedes. When the U.S. decided that they wanted a pistol in .45 ACP caliber, Luger submitted at least two for tests. Stoeger in the U.S.A. sold many Lugers in the twenties and thirties, adding Stoeger markings and custom barrels to many.
The Swiss also placed contracts for many variations of Lugers, accepting the .30 Luger cartridge. Several variations of 1900 and 1906 model Lugers were made for the Swiss by DWM. The Swiss never rejected the use of the grip safety on their Lugers unlike other countries, staying with the 1906 after the 1908 Model was introduced.
The Swiss government decided to produce their own Lugers at the Bern Arsenal, their first Luger was called the 1924 Bern, basically a 1906 with a few improvements. In 1929 Bern developed what is called the Model 1929 Swiss. These are distinctive with straight front grip straps and plastic grips and may be found in three different colors.
When purchasing a Luger, aim to buy the best condition example you can afford. As with any collectibles, the better the condition, the greater its appreciation. It also helps to acquire complete accessories for each example. Most collectors resign themselves to the fact that they will probably never be able to attain the rarer model Lugers, 1902 Carbines or even its predecessor the 1893 Borchardt.
Military pistols were issued with two matching numbered magazines, a holster and takedown tool. A complete rig usually brings at least three times the price of the pistol alone. Navy, artillery and carbine models came with matching numbered stocks which, if available with the pistols, significantly increase the value. Commercial Lugers came in boxes or leather cases which today tend to be worth more than the guns themselves!
The demand for rare variations, desirable proof or unit markings, matching accessories and mint condition examples has led to a small industry where unscrupulous individuals re-stamp, re-number, re-finish and manufacture components to fraudulently increase the value of their Lugers. This happens in virtually every collectible field, where rare items are worth more than what they would cost to reproduce.
The best defense against being defrauded is to learn as much as possible about the items, look at as many original and restored guns as possible, until you learn the difference. Reputable dealers will guarantee the authenticity of their merchandise so it is best to buy from known sources.
Illustrations courtesy of Simpson Ltd. and Ron Hayes; References: Handbook – Luger (Skennerton) 2009; ‘Collector’ #15 – Collecting Lugers by Brad Simpson
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