LugerForum Discussion Forums - View Single Post - What Luger do I have and is this even a P-08?

mrerick · 08-15-2011, 12:29 PM

Hi Antony,

Welcome to the forum.

While not as highly valued as the military marked Lugers, your commercial Luger is very nice and in it's all matching high condition state would be collectible.

A fair portion of your pistol's value is that it is very close to the state it left the factory in. Some of the parts of your Luger are marked with the last digits of the serial number. Should you break or damage any of these, the value will drop considerably. For that reason, many collectors don't fire their all matching guns.

The crown over N (C/N) proof on your pistol is a commercial "Nitro" proof, performed as require by law in Germany. The thing that is often faked is a crown over "M" proof that was used on pistols destined for the Navy. The real Navy Lugers are rare and highly sought after.

Let's see if I have my history right... (I know that this overview will be corrected by more knowledgeable members...)

There have been a few companies that manufactured Lugers. Georg Luger worked for DWM in Berlin at the time he completed the design, and they manufactured the first ones including yours. Some of their products were sold commercially in and outside Germany. Some were made for the German military.

An Imperial arsenal at Erfurt Germany acquired tooling and manufactured Lugers for the German military in the WW-I timeframe.

After WW-I, DWM was permitted to manufacture commercial pistols for export. For the small permitted German defense army and police departments, the Erfurt tooling was sold to Simson & Co. in Suhl Germany. They reworked Lugers, used the existing stock of DWM parts and assembled a small number of completely new ones.

DWM was eventually part of a conglomerate that included Mauser in Oberndorf Germany. In the early 1930s the DWM tooling was relocated to Mauser and they began to surreptitiously make military Lugers with the coded "K" date in 1934 and "G" date in 1935. In 1936 the Germans threw off the Versailles treaty and began manufacturing military Lugers openly.

The Simson tooling was confiscated by the Nazi government (Simson was owned by a Jewish family) and relocated to the Krieghoff factory in Suhl, Germany in the early 1930s. There, Krieghoff made Lugers for the Luftwaffe. These are highly sought after.

Mauser stopped making Lugers in 1942 as the military contracts shifted to the Walther desighed P-38 pistol. Krieghoff made a small number for a few years after that. All German manufacture of the Luger ended with their collapse at the end of WW-II. I believe a small number were made from parts found at the Mauser and Krieghoff factories and proofed by the occupying French government.

Over the following years, Mauser and others have made commercial Lugers for brief periods of time.

Marc

08-15-2011, 12:29 PM	#9
mrerick Super Moderator - Patron LugerForum Life Patron Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Eastern North Carolina, USA Posts: 3,900 Thanks: 1,372 Thanked 3,094 Times in 1,503 Posts	Hi Antony, Welcome to the forum. While not as highly valued as the military marked Lugers, your commercial Luger is very nice and in it's all matching high condition state would be collectible. A fair portion of your pistol's value is that it is very close to the state it left the factory in. Some of the parts of your Luger are marked with the last digits of the serial number. Should you break or damage any of these, the value will drop considerably. For that reason, many collectors don't fire their all matching guns. The crown over N (C/N) proof on your pistol is a commercial "Nitro" proof, performed as require by law in Germany. The thing that is often faked is a crown over "M" proof that was used on pistols destined for the Navy. The real Navy Lugers are rare and highly sought after. Let's see if I have my history right... (I know that this overview will be corrected by more knowledgeable members...) There have been a few companies that manufactured Lugers. Georg Luger worked for DWM in Berlin at the time he completed the design, and they manufactured the first ones including yours. Some of their products were sold commercially in and outside Germany. Some were made for the German military. An Imperial arsenal at Erfurt Germany acquired tooling and manufactured Lugers for the German military in the WW-I timeframe. After WW-I, DWM was permitted to manufacture commercial pistols for export. For the small permitted German defense army and police departments, the Erfurt tooling was sold to Simson & Co. in Suhl Germany. They reworked Lugers, used the existing stock of DWM parts and assembled a small number of completely new ones. DWM was eventually part of a conglomerate that included Mauser in Oberndorf Germany. In the early 1930s the DWM tooling was relocated to Mauser and they began to surreptitiously make military Lugers with the coded "K" date in 1934 and "G" date in 1935. In 1936 the Germans threw off the Versailles treaty and began manufacturing military Lugers openly. The Simson tooling was confiscated by the Nazi government (Simson was owned by a Jewish family) and relocated to the Krieghoff factory in Suhl, Germany in the early 1930s. There, Krieghoff made Lugers for the Luftwaffe. These are highly sought after. Mauser stopped making Lugers in 1942 as the military contracts shifted to the Walther desighed P-38 pistol. Krieghoff made a small number for a few years after that. All German manufacture of the Luger ended with their collapse at the end of WW-II. I believe a small number were made from parts found at the Mauser and Krieghoff factories and proofed by the occupying French government. Over the following years, Mauser and others have made commercial Lugers for brief periods of time. Marc __________________ Igitur si vis pacem, para bellum - - Therefore if you want peace, prepare for war.