[ithacaartist]

Thanks again, gentlemen, for your input.

I can see how settling on an area to collect in is the foundation for what I'd need in reference material. I didn't mean to bug anyone by asking an old FAQ once again without checking them; my intention was to get the freshest info, since there are new books by forum members, I didn't want to miss out. The responses have been helpful in determining what I might do, and they are nowhere as wordy as my request!

I was thinking about it over the weekend and came up with a proposal for myself: I noted just what I'd bid on thru Proxibid last week for an auction that happens towards the end of the month. The bids were based mostly on economics, with an eye to matching part numbers. One was for a Stoeger .22, one for a 1993 Mitchell Arms, one for a P08 that had had the bejeepers engraved out of its outer surfaces, and lastly a unit that had been chromed. None was really hard-core collectible, compared to lots of other Lugers available, though I perceived each to have its own individual charm and appeal.

The Mitchell, well, maybe nobody wants to talk about that one, as I sense the production run's results are regarded as somewhat of a travesty aesthetically and mechanically. I've read about others who have encountered nightmare cases--Failures to feed/fire, spalling of the stainless material on the side toggle ramps, general overall lack of mechanical quality, wavy buffing of sideplates and frame, etc.--or maybe like a few, I'd end up with a sweet, dependable shooter. The ones with engraving or chrome plating may not have bad mechanical issues, and I am not as worried by them. The .22 would be welcomed as the most economical, lightest, and easiest to use for impromptu plinking. I'm also curious how the Stoeger would compare to my Ithaca .22 lever action repeater in form and feel because the rifle"s action was mfd. by Erma Werke, who of course also made Lugers. The M-72 has served me as a rabbit and squirrel gun ever since it was purchased in the Ithaca Gun Co."s employee store. (My ex-wife worked for their service dept. right after graduating college in the early 70's) A 4X scope with 1" tube lets me pin a squirrel thru the ears at 40 yds, good enough for dinner! Helps confirm the M-72's reputation as the world's most accurate .22 repeater of that era. The advertized claim was "one ragged hole" for a group of 5 bench clamped shots.

I wondered if it would be bad at all if I started my minor collecting career with a small family of mutts, mismatched, disfigured, or relatively distant from the origins, like the Mitchell. I'm thinking it would not, because I'd gain experience in shooting, identifying, and addressing possible issues with Lugers. This would lead, rather naturally I think, to finding out just exactly what I'd like to own in the future that could be really correct and nice.

Yes, I'd restore the grip strap of that one we saw recently on this forum that had it ground thru, a proposed result of a heavy hand in unit marking removal.
Yes, I'd try out that re-blued Luger that had its part numbers just about buffed into oblivion.
And when/if the time comes to move on from these, I figure they really can't depreciate if they are already on the bottom of the price barrel!

My bidding strategy has been to examine all the online offerings I could find for auctions and outright 'for sale' stuff, to obtain a fairly reassured sense of what things are selling for, and what they should sell for. I'm avoiding the $1500 shooters, favoring instead those under $1k.
Proxibid has an interesting and informative feature where one can see the selling prices realized by previous auctions, and I feel this has helped me a lot in bidding on upcoming guns. With the hi-lo range put up by the site for each article in mind, I compare formerly realized prices to similar current offerings and have ended up establishing my max bids at around the 75% mark of the range between low and high auctioneer's estimate. The prospect of buying a gun that I've only seen one picture of is a little unnerving, but I figure with this initial approach I would not be burned too badly, worst case.

In the event that the reasoning applied above may, in a way not conceived by me, lead to disaster or disillusionment, please let me know