American eagle luger
 

I was coming back from the range yesterday with a friend and he asked if I wanted to stop at a gun shop he had found the week before. Of course I said yes. While talking to the owner he was showing me some pistols that were just being processed into the shop. The third pistol he pulled out of a sock got my attention. It was an American Eagle Luger in excellent condition. I have only got to hold two of them in my 60 years of buying and trading guns. This one didn't even appear to have been fired. He said they had just acquired the pistol. I asked him how much and he said it would probably sell in the 5K range. I didn't have that much on me at the time so I had to pass.

5k is way too much unless there is something special about it.

Is it a 1900 with dished toggles? Or 1906 in what caliber?

Even a test luger might be bought for 5k, so find out a lot of info about it before putting out cash :)

Are you sure it hasn't been restored/refinished? Agree with Ed way to high unless a test or?? Bill

Post photos before you commit to a purchase... It sounds too good to be real.

May be a "1970" Mauser also.
But what ever, price sounds high.

You would be paying a huge premium for high condition, so it is important to verify that said condition is original. A restored or otherwise altered gun is worth less than half that price.
dju

If it's indeed a 1900 AE in mint condition, $5k is acceptable. Be aware most people chasing "military" in Luger domain, the market for commercial Luger is small. But that factor is already in the formula, otherwise, mint 1900 AE would be much higher than $5k. The key is the condition.

For gun trading purpose, it's probably not a great candidate. To be profitable in gun trading, the key is not the condition, but the price. Many items being profitable or not was decided at its coming price. That's the main reason we see many traders carrying many shooters and many average C&Rs. For condition, those are not attractive, but those are cheap.

For self collecting, the story is somewhat different. Depends on your taste.

To be more specific, the finish of the pistol is original. You just have to take my word for that. I have been buying and selling guns for a very long time. The toggles are not dished and it is 30 caliber. I have no intention of buying it. At my age wouldn't pay 5K for the Walther pistol Hitler shot himself with. I simply posted the story to comment on my surprise at seeing a nice American Eagle Luger that Bubba didn't get his hands on to chrome plate. I have seen that too. If anyone would like to talk to the Owner of the gun shop here is the name and PH# of the shop. Highland Guns
909-862-3434 FAX909.8623435
www.HIGHLANDGUN.COM

I chatted with family members at dinner a week ago. My son told me that he would go to Springfield gun show in June with his friend "to have some fun". I heard of that, I felt a little bit happy. At least, he had some interest in firearms now. My wife told him "I guess your friend did not know that your father plays this type of things". He answered, "oh, no. I have no interest on the type that he plays. We will just take a look on some modern stuffs".

Putting interest aside, C&R is too expensive for young people. Most people need to be in their 40s, 50s, or 60s to afford those. If missed that window and buy them in 80s,,, that's a little bit unusual, I guess. So, I fully understand bypassing this AE. In 80s, most collectors are in selling stage.

well you said So, it sounded like you might go back - and we have no idea what you know or don't know about guns. I think our advice is still spot on, without lots of pictures and hands on inspection, it could be a restored gun. Several people are good enough to do so. :)

Anytime you go into the 'min't' world of anything, the price jumps up - but it also needs to be looked at very carefully.

My wallet won't expand enough to hold $5,000...My pants pocket won't either... :rolleyes:

I'd have to haul a little red wagon down to the gun shop with that much in it... ;)

USD $5000 is a lot for a used car, but not a lot for a used gun. That's very weird. I have a used 1998 Camery LE, 70,000 miles on it, excellent condition, I will ask $4000. I also have a used 1898 pistol, excellent, I will ask $8000. How could a very useful 2000-pound complex object be much cheaper than a useless 2-pound simple object... that's the market.

Then how do you explain used cars with prices of $10k, or 20k, or even 40k?

$5k is not "a lot" for a used car; just a lot for some used cars!:evilgrin:

$8k IS a lot for a pistol over 100 years old!:eek:

If you notice the common ground of many expensive items on market -- almost all of them bear this property -- it has no use in daily life. No matter it's an antique car or an antique gun or an antique gold coin, etc. Those are useless things in life, looking-only items.. Useful items are usually cheap. But, are these really looking only? They bear another property though, or, at least, people think they bear another property.

There is no need to dig out the value basis of these things. People treats them as value store. $5k AE Luger has certain value-store property. Without this property, it's just a piece of iron, $300 a ton.

Of course, there is no need to trade $5k cash with a $5k value store unless you have great interest in that item and you're in certain age range. Keep $5k value in cash is not a bad choice in low inflation environment.

There is some evidence to indicate Lugers appreciate faster than inflation and therefore could be considered to have investment characteristics. Provided that you didn't over-pay.

http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthre...ight=inflation

But the are caveats. Absolute dollar value or everyday utility IMO do impact collectibles at times. I wouldn't want to sell say a Rembrandt or Borchardt pistol at the hight of a recession or other tough time due to the possible scarcity of buyers. So I'd consider Lugers illiquid from an investment strategy standpoint.

Yes, I have found that although all the variations and conditions rise, quick turn around is definitely not guaranteed...

But, nice military will always sell fairly quick