Buy books first. Then read and study books. Go to collector shows and ask lots of annoying questions of graybeard old farts such as yours truly. Buy more books, some on European military and political history from 1880 through 1950. These will provide context.
After you have done your homework, begin deciding how you wish to approach Lugers,'cuz you will never be able to own one of every recognized variation.
You may wish to buy a shooter to play with. For this, I would recommend the best 1920 commercial you can find. While they are quite common now, they won't be in another 5-10 years and their value will continue to increase.
Always buy a contemporary holster with the pistols you acquire...while the values of the pistols has done very well the last few years, the value of leather has been climbing astronomically.
And as a final piece of advice, always buy the very best condition available; 98-99% guns that are completely original are always in demand by senior collectors and will usually command a premium of 20-25% over the same gun in 90-95%.
My zwei pfennigs
Tom A.
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