Values of "G" Dates...early vs late?
 

Maybe this is a dumb question but Lugers are a new area of interest for me. Does it make a difference in value being an "early" "G" date? Reason I ask is I own a "b" suffix "G" date with the W/154 proofs and I noticed right away that correct accessories for it were priced a lot higher than with later "G" dates with dwe/63 proofs. So does this price escalation also extend to the pistols themselves?

Greg

Greg, IMHO condition is the most important factor governing value of the early Mauser PO8s. Given the same condition, the more scarce K date, E/211 or E/154 proofing do demand a slight premium over the more common DWE/de. TH

I can understand the "K" date being more valuable since they made far fewer of them than the "G" dates. But it seems like with the "G" date codes the "early" and "later" production seems to affect value. For example, assuming equal condition, would a "G" date with "a" s/n suffix be worth substantially more than one made with "e" s/n suffix?

Greg,
* Substantially - No! Maybe only slightly as Tom suggests and; then, only if you as a seller are willing to hold out.
* Orv Reichert, a sage veteran of the German War pistol collecting frontier, has a rule of collecting which goes something like this: "No matter how rare, you got to find someone who cares."
* There are substantially fewer collectors of Waffen Acceptance stamps on pistols than there are of chamber dates or Mfgs. I can slice & dice to say my S/N wxyz "c" block G-date is the only one known. Do you care? Too many other "G" dates competing for me to command a "substantial" premium.
* However, once you have a pistol bearing a certain Waffen Acceptance and you are trying to marry up an accessory bearing that specific stamp, the Econ101 Supply side (availablity) comes into play as the supply can only be satisfied one way against your specific demand. Hence, $'s.
* Then too, a substantial premium over a $1000 item means far larger bucks than a substantial premium over a $100 item. The number of people differential willing (marginal propensity) to part with the cost of a good dinner versus parting with a monthly car (mortgage?) payment is intuitively obvious.
* This from an E/154 marked "G" date owner.
Respectfully,
Bob

Well put Bob. Also to reinforce the quote from Orv, years ago I had a nice collection of Savage pistols, with a couple of rare ones, but when I lost interest and decided to sell, I found that there were very few others who "cared". TH Note to Greg: In my earlier responce I mention the the earliest G date had the same proofing as the late K dates. These are the hardest G dates to find. Tom

Tom

Actually, you answered my question in the previous post. I just didn't read it correctly for some reason.

Didn't know before now that the "K" date and early "G" dates had same proof

Greg