Rear toggle pin question
 

I have a 1939 Luger with a 42 mark on it the top of the toggle. I have taken the luger completely apart and all parts are matching with an 07. the only part I have a question about is the rear toggle connecting pin. It has an 02 on the left side. I have looked in several books and there is no mention of the toggle pin itself having a number. Does this mean that my Luger is not matching? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Jeff Vincent

Hi Jeff,

Yes, it means your gun is not matching.

Tom A.

Just a suggestion, study the "02" very carefully. The German "7 & 2" can easily be misread depending on the type of stamp used. Use a magnifying glass and look close. Tom, if the pin were not numbered would it be "nonmatching" for a
1939 mauser?

rk

Hi rk,
Yes, if the rear connecting pin was blank, it would still be a non-matching 1939/42 Luger. All military Mauser Lugers had the rear conneting pin numbered with the last two digits originally when they left the factory. No exceptions.

Thanks for the help. How does this one nonmatching piece influence the value of the gun? The Luger is otherwise a 85-90 percent gun. What would the value be?

Hi Vincent,

The bad news is that as it is mismatched it is nothing but a shooter from a collector's standpoint. In the condition you describe, it should bring about $350-400.

Tom A.

Shooter Luger prices have certainly gone up in the past two years. I think the recent imports have just about dried up and that pushs the shooter prices up.

I agree that shooter prices have gone up. A toggle pin that is mismatched does technically make it a mismatch Luger but in the scope of serious collectors (and wannabes) this would only be a dickering point to talk someone down in price. No decent Lugers are being sold for under $500 anymore. I remember all the 'collectors' talking about "common variety" Lugers for $300 about 25 years ago and all complaining that they couldn't find any! Guess what? There still aren't any! Good condition Lugers (mismatches, restored, refinished, etc) are worth around $500 as a good starting price. Really nice ones are going for around a grand. The times have caught up with the old timers and the dreamers.