Jim,
* Welcome to the Forum. Thanks for the post/pictures. Some more info will help answer your questions.
* As you may already know, Jan Still in his book Third Reich Lugers estimates Mauser (S/42)made 89,500 P.08's in 1936 and 113,800 P.08's in 1938.
* Your 1936 is rust blued, bears a lower case suffix letter(f to p) with the frame's full numeric serial number, bears the droop wing Eagle/63 Waffen Inspector stamps and the mid (I think)style proof eagle. It suffers some localized, shallow(peppered) pitting and patina'd (side plate) blue loss which lowers its condition assessment.
* Your nicer 1938 is hot salt blued, bears a lower case suffix letter(b to n) with the frame's full numeric s/n, has the stick wing Eagle/63 or sE/83 Waffen Inspector stamps and the mid style proof eagle. Blue loss appears to be mostly honest holster/handling induced in the classic expected locations.
* Suffix letters from the pistols may help us pin when in each year the piece was manufactured and check to see if a matching mag has been reported.
* Full S/N's(w/suffix), description(tin/blue color tube) & acceptance eagle/# of the 3 mags may help another collector find a matching mag for his pistol.
* I suspect your holsters are maker's name coded/dated. If only a 3 letter maker's code is present, we can help ID the maker's name. The acceptance E/# would aid this research.
* Your two question are: quality & value
* IMHO: They are both collector & NOT "shooter" quality from what I can see from your digitals. This presumes all original (factory) condition, grips solid & matched, fully functional, and all numbers inside/outside match.
* Value = % condition, % original condition, rarity, & % condition. Value = what Bill of Sale $'s a motivated seller and a knowledgeable buyer are willing to agree upon on any single day given full and accurate disclosure.
* Value has no one single answer. For instance: Is your value query for insurance(time future replacement), inheritance tax(a mere pitance), sale(asking/retail/auction/final/walkaway), historical(includes documented provenance from a well known individual/incidence), or bragging(priceless)?
* Estimates from afar suffer precision. Although the pics do help, a personal appraisal by an impartial Luger expert is recommended.
* The holsters, extra mag, & tool accessories add value. Their condition & markings are not described. Remaining original blue/hue left on both grip straps are unknown. The bore condition(s) are unspecified...tho to some collectors it doesn't matter & to others it is 10% of the value.
* Hopeless?? No - with a little more info as outlined above, one of us may hazard a guesstimate range to answer your questions.
* BTW - about $125-150 should get you a period correct mag & tool to complete that second rig. The correct eagle acceptance for these will be the same as the left most waffen mark on the receiver involved.
Respectfully,
WR
|