Bill S.

Some of the best known dealers have tried to pass off on me restored or refinished Lugers as original when I knew they knew or should have known the status of the piece. Most of the big dealers are collectors as well and generally keep the best for themselves. The problem is that everyone wants mint or close to mint and there are not enough mint guns around to satisfy demand..hence the restorations. I suggest thst an inexperienced collector handle as many Lugers as possible of all vintages paying special attention to guns of KNOWN original provenance so as to develop a feel for what is original. This feel can only be developed by handling numerous examples, so go to every show and handle every Luger in sight. You will start to see similarities in wear patterns on blue and straw colors so you will soon recognixe what is original and what is not. Ask different "experts" about the same gun and compare their

answers. Soon you will know who the bullslingers are and

who can be trusted.


Once when I was examining a prototype, offered to me by a well known dealer, that I suspected was refinished, I compared the frame serial number stampings under strong magnification to the numbers of a know original example and discovered that the subject prototype

numbers had been deepened by an engraving tool and were not stamped as was the original. The numbers had become shallow because of the polishing needed for refinishing. When

spending your hard earned dollars, look very carefully.


Happy hunting,


Bill S. (ALFA2NINE)