Kevin, welcome to the forum.
Pictures have to be provided to give a value, there is a tutorial under the help section.
Essentially, I can say this;
It was made by Mauser (byf) in 1941 (41).
I also collect bring back stories, ask your friend if he is interested in me adding it to my book. Would need name, rank (name could be left out), story of how aquired / area he was in, or anything other known facts, and pictures.
You can use a byf for home defense, but I wouldn't. Several reasons;
**Lugers can be picky on ammo, so unsure I would use it for my life when there are other guns available, I'll trade him a mismatched P38 for it
;
**If it is ALL matching and he is practicing with it, vaue could go from $2300 down to $500.
**If he uses it in self-defense and wounds/kills someone, they will consficate it until he is proven innocent, and sometimes longer.
ensure you come to
www.lugerforum.com and they see the links on the left. under the tech help and the other one is how to take apart, etc.
In Jan Stis third Reich Lugers it says; Subvariation 1 serial range 3300n-1000, 122,000 made. so we'd need the full serial number and a picture of the front of the frame, as suffixes can be difficut in determining exactly what you have.
Although they al kinda look alike, there is huge variation in many makers and models.
Ed