[mrerick]

Respecting what Doug said above, first have your friend double check with his/her realty agent and see if purchase of the house included all contents at the time of sale. That is generally the case, and it would tend to indicate that title for the gun passed to you.

It is the seller's responsibility to clear out personal possessions prior to sale of a property.

i would check with the police department to verify that the gun is not stolen. Note that Luger serial numbers are duplicated on several different pistols based upon when they were made, and what company made them. just because there is a serial number match on a "Luger" doesn't mean it's the same gun. It also has to be a "41" date "byf" Mauser made Luger to match. For example there were DWM made lugers numbered "1600". The suffix letter also has to match.

You don't indicate what state you live in, and there may be registration or confiscation laws in force. For that reason, it might be worth checking with the lawyer that handled the contract and title transfer first. That could put the property on record, and prevent it from being stolen, lost or mis-appropriated as this gets worked out. If the contract lawyer can't handle it they can give a reference.

The holster from WW-I is early, and also has a value. My guess given condition is $200 or so, but it might be worth more because it is quite early (1914).

The gun itself would start at $1500 value if all matching, and is more likely worth $1600 or so. It's possible to add a black bakelite (plastic) based FXO milled magazine and make this a "matching" luger including magazine, which was not serialized. That would cost $200 to $250 to accomplish.

I can't make out the serial number letter suffix, but it could be "s", sn 1600s ? It's a Mauser made 1941 vintage WW-II Luger with WW-I holster.

Don't store the gun in the holster. It can damage the finish.

Marc