Identifing a Luger

03-11-2002, 12:50 PM

I am trying to find out the worth for a Luger pistol. The pistol belongs to a widow. Her husband bought it in the late 40s while he was in the miltary. Here is what I know. Manufactures date is 1938. Marked S/42 on top. All the numbers that can be seen without taking it apart match. The grips have been replaced. Very nice condition. One problem is the owner scribed his drivers license on the back. There is one mag with matching number.

It has a holster. The holster is marked 1942 GCX P38 w24b17.

I have a couple digital photos of it. The widow wants to sell it but not get ripped off. Any help finding a value would be apreciated

03-11-2002, 01:02 PM

John I only have a few minutes,

S/42 is a Mauser made Luger, obviously made in 1938.

Is trhe drivers license # scribed on the back of the grips or the back where you hold your hand? if that is the case, then it drops the price very much, depending on condition, it is commonly called a shooter Luger. I personnally believe in a sliding scale of shooters, so to me a low end shooter is $350 (unless in bad shape), while many Lugers I have seen on the market go from $450 to $550. Maybe a bit mroe if it was in nice shape rare etc., but if the DL is inscribed, few collectors would want it.

But and this is a big but (sorry that sounded bad), but market value matters the most.

If she put in an ad in the Giant Nickle, paper etc., for $700 and she sold it, then the market in your area would obviously be $700 to "that" buyer.

hope that helps

ed

bill m · 03-11-2002, 01:23 PM

Hi,

You can not answer these kinds of questions even remotely accurately with out details of the condition. Condition determines the price, whether it is a shooter or collection piece. For instance, a gun with heavy pitting is worth less than a gun without pitting. -- A gun with a great bore is worth more than one with a lousy bore and ect and ect.

Marvin · 03-11-2002, 02:27 PM

John,

Bill and 66mustang are correct in thier answers; it is difficult to determine a value without seeing the pistol, but we can help establish an approximate value.

If you will go to the "general Information" section of the Forum and click on the "Frequently Asked Questions" section, you can read about determining the value of the pistol. Then, go to the "Technical Information" section of the Forum and click on the "Identification Sheets" and click on the "Luger Identification Form". Print these documents off and answer the questions on the Form. If you can scan or photograph the forms and post them on the Forum, we will probably have enough info to give you a close idea of value. This may sond like a lot of trouble, but without seeing the pistol, this is the only way we can get all the info to price it. I agree that the widow should as a fair market value for the pistol.

The real "bummer" is the DL being scrathed on the pistol. This definelty does effect the value to a collector. The matching magazine and the holster helps the value. Be sure to note how deeply the DL number is scratched into the metal. Is it with a vibrator type pencil or just surface scrached thru the blue.

Marvin

Lonnie Zimmerman · 03-11-2002, 04:18 PM

Since the holster does not go with the pistol (P-38) I would sell it seperately. I would be interested if it is in good shape. It is probably worth $175 to $200.

Lonnie

03-12-2002, 10:38 AM

I took a couple photos of it.

Also the bore is in good shape no pitting. The DL was scribe on the back of the bolt. It is very light and didn't show up in the photo. It is a blued gun with no strawing. It does have the Mauser military marks. I guess my real question is how much did the DL lower the value.

Thanks

http://home.attbi.com/~jimbax00/list...n-r/john-r.htm

John Sabato · 03-12-2002, 10:52 AM

Now that I have seen the photos of the Luger, it is obvious that this Luger has been refinished previously and therefore has little if any collector value because it is not "original finish". The finish on Miltary Mauser Lugers is good, but not that good - this one has been polished to a high lustre and then re-blued. I own a pistol similar to it, a byf 41, but I can't place a value on it because it is not for sale. You can see photographs of my pistol in the owner's corner (link on the left) under my name...

What you have is still a nice shooter and would be worth at least $400 and perhaps a hundred or two more to someone close to you that wanted a nice looking Luger in good mechanical shape and didn't care about collector value. Since it has been refinished previously, you could have the part where the DL is scratched repolished and reblued without further harming the value.

If you auctioned it, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it brought $600 or $700... or more from someone who liked the way it looks...

-John

03-11-2002, 12:50 PM	#1
John Ruiz Guest Posts: n/a	Identifing a Luger I am trying to find out the worth for a Luger pistol. The pistol belongs to a widow. Her husband bought it in the late 40s while he was in the miltary. Here is what I know. Manufactures date is 1938. Marked S/42 on top. All the numbers that can be seen without taking it apart match. The grips have been replaced. Very nice condition. One problem is the owner scribed his drivers license on the back. There is one mag with matching number. It has a holster. The holster is marked 1942 GCX P38 w24b17. I have a couple digital photos of it. The widow wants to sell it but not get ripped off. Any help finding a value would be apreciated

03-11-2002, 01:02 PM	#2
66mustang Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Identifing a Luger John I only have a few minutes, S/42 is a Mauser made Luger, obviously made in 1938. Is trhe drivers license # scribed on the back of the grips or the back where you hold your hand? if that is the case, then it drops the price very much, depending on condition, it is commonly called a shooter Luger. I personnally believe in a sliding scale of shooters, so to me a low end shooter is $350 (unless in bad shape), while many Lugers I have seen on the market go from $450 to $550. Maybe a bit mroe if it was in nice shape rare etc., but if the DL is inscribed, few collectors would want it. But and this is a big but (sorry that sounded bad), but market value matters the most. If she put in an ad in the Giant Nickle, paper etc., for $700 and she sold it, then the market in your area would obviously be $700 to "that" buyer. hope that helps ed

03-11-2002, 01:23 PM	#3
bill m User Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 385 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Condition Hi, You can not answer these kinds of questions even remotely accurately with out details of the condition. Condition determines the price, whether it is a shooter or collection piece. For instance, a gun with heavy pitting is worth less than a gun without pitting. -- A gun with a great bore is worth more than one with a lousy bore and ect and ect.

03-11-2002, 02:27 PM	#4
Marvin User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Upstate S.C. Posts: 1,132 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Identifing a Luger John, Bill and 66mustang are correct in thier answers; it is difficult to determine a value without seeing the pistol, but we can help establish an approximate value. If you will go to the "general Information" section of the Forum and click on the "Frequently Asked Questions" section, you can read about determining the value of the pistol. Then, go to the "Technical Information" section of the Forum and click on the "Identification Sheets" and click on the "Luger Identification Form". Print these documents off and answer the questions on the Form. If you can scan or photograph the forms and post them on the Forum, we will probably have enough info to give you a close idea of value. This may sond like a lot of trouble, but without seeing the pistol, this is the only way we can get all the info to price it. I agree that the widow should as a fair market value for the pistol. The real "bummer" is the DL being scrathed on the pistol. This definelty does effect the value to a collector. The matching magazine and the holster helps the value. Be sure to note how deeply the DL number is scratched into the metal. Is it with a vibrator type pencil or just surface scrached thru the blue. Marvin

03-11-2002, 04:18 PM	#5
Lonnie Zimmerman User Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 523 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Identifing a Luger Since the holster does not go with the pistol (P-38) I would sell it seperately. I would be interested if it is in good shape. It is probably worth $175 to $200. Lonnie

03-12-2002, 10:38 AM	#6
John Ruiz Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Now have photos I took a couple photos of it. Also the bore is in good shape no pitting. The DL was scribe on the back of the bolt. It is very light and didn't show up in the photo. It is a blued gun with no strawing. It does have the Mauser military marks. I guess my real question is how much did the DL lower the value. Thanks http://home.attbi.com/~jimbax00/list...n-r/john-r.htm

03-12-2002, 10:52 AM	#7
John Sabato Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The Capital of the Free World Posts: 10,153 Thanks: 3,003 Thanked 2,304 Times in 1,096 Posts	The DL is not the only problem... it's been re-blued! Now that I have seen the photos of the Luger, it is obvious that this Luger has been refinished previously and therefore has little if any collector value because it is not "original finish". The finish on Miltary Mauser Lugers is good, but not that good - this one has been polished to a high lustre and then re-blued. I own a pistol similar to it, a byf 41, but I can't place a value on it because it is not for sale. You can see photographs of my pistol in the owner's corner (link on the left) under my name... What you have is still a nice shooter and would be worth at least $400 and perhaps a hundred or two more to someone close to you that wanted a nice looking Luger in good mechanical shape and didn't care about collector value. Since it has been refinished previously, you could have the part where the DL is scratched repolished and reblued without further harming the value. If you auctioned it, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it brought $600 or $700... or more from someone who liked the way it looks... -John