[mrerick]

Hi Andre, and welcome to the forum...

Listen to Jerry, and buy some of the better reference books.

All the Lugers are interesting in their own ways... It would be wise to pick a period you're interested in, and study that period in depth.

Your budget will determine what you acquire. They range into thousands of dollars, and it's easy to make a mistake if you're not well informed, and don't have experience handling actual Lugers. It's hard to judge originality of finish if you haven't seen them closeup and in person.

There is a fair amount of "boosting" going on. With application of certain marks, the value of a Luger can be artificially enhanced. An expert can often detect altered guns. Even with experience, you may not be able to.

Luger collectors want pistols that are as close to the day they left the factory as possible. That means all matching and not restored or refinished. An exquisite restored Luger is not as valuable as a prime condition original.

There are amazing discoveries to be found - and remarkable Lugers appear on the forum periodically - sometimes encountered at Gun Shows or hidden in attics. That's not the normal place to find high end collectible Lugers today. Unfortunately, some of the well known dealers that focus on Lugers have been offering guns recently that are overpriced and with implied rarity that is questionable. Without the clear intent to deceive, sometimes inexperienced sellers mis-represent what they are offering... Cavaet Emptor rules...

I refer to the trials and tribulations of starting Luger collecting as the "Luger University"... The books and careful study keep the tuition down.

Marc