John,
Welcome to the Forum.
The ONLY lettering or number filled in at the factory is the Gesichert under the safety lever. Anything else was done by a previous owner of the pistol.
On value. Don is correct saying that condition trumps everything else within a class/variation of P.08. The second factor is scarcity defined by either usage, i.e.a Navy marked gun, or number of pieces made, or a specific proof mark.
Some examples:
K-dates are generally speaking the most expensive S/42 marked P.08. Only 11,000 made and it was the first year of production.
There are several variations of G-dates, all S/42 but with various scarcities.
1937 dated, S/42s depend on early or late variation.
The 41/42 you mentioned is higher priced because it is a transition between the year 41 marked with 42 and byf toggle marks. Only few thousand made with 41/42. Most had 41 byf.
And, Navy marked guns!!! Another price point entirely due to scarcity.
Bottom line: Really difficult to generalize with respect to Luger collecting as all generalizations are wrong, including this one.
Hope this helps.
John
|