Robert,
Just jumping in at the end (I was sleeping after we had our E-mail exchange earlier this evening). Well, I am sorry for you to notice that all the experts agree upon my first reaction to this Luger.
The man who took your fine Dutch Luger as a trade in for the byf 41 was fully aware of the 'real story' behind it. His reaction when you tried to undo the transaction makes that very clear to me.
The standard approach of this kind of seller follows the standard textbook:
- It was brought back by a veteran after WWII
- I bought it from him directly some .... years ago (in your case 35 years)
- I just tried once to shoot with it, it is very accurate, but never shot again
- I want to sell it now, because... (in your case because his wife is jewish - and she does not want him to keep a SS marked Luger in his collection)
- SS marked Lugers are very rare, many are not real, but this one is, because.... In your case the book, and the 'matching marking' on the strip.
This last part is one of the best prepared arguments that I heard of, and the Luger plus the book are together a gimmick that will give you a lot to talk about during a gun show, as Ed pointed out.
Best regards
__________________
Joop
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