SS Officer Nickle Plated Luger

[Thor]

I got another common battery of questions tonight about an inherited Luger. Story is pretty much the same, think it was taken off a dead SS officer in the war. Grips are SEMI CLEAR (sounds like plexiglass) CHROME PLATED (sounds like nickel) how rare and what is it worth! I HATE to be the bearer of bad news! It breaks the heart! ~~Thor~~

[William Reese]

Thor have you ever tried removing the nickle plating for someone? If so, how well does it work out and what would you charge? Let's see $300.00 (day dreaming) for nickle plated Luger with ground off lug that nobody wants, plus your magical touch equals a great looking shooter. Just thinking out loud and getting geddy, Back to teaching school tomorrow. Auf Weidersehn. William Reese

[BILL]

There are processes for removing plating but the cost of buying a chrome plated Luger, stripping it, refinishing it..well, you can buy a fairly common original Luger and shoot it for years (then you can have it chrome plated to pass on to your next of kin).

[HÃ?Â¥kan Spuhr]

I have my own coolumn (ask the gunsmith) in one of the swedish gunmagazines so I get this kinds of questions all the time.

But I find it very important to tell people that not everything that is old is worth Gold.


And to tell the truth I love to inform people that their extrmely valuable Belgian shotgun is less worth than the sling that is attached to the gun.


The problem we have here is a TV program about auctions where people go and get their stuff valued, and those valuations is not even close, but it makes some people extremely happy.


Regards HÃ?Â¥kan





http://www.vapensmedjan.com

[Dok]

The antique appraisal TV programs are a very popular phenomenon here in the US and in Europe (where they originated in England I think). I spoke with an antique dealer who finds it a bit frustrating--not because the owners know the true value of their antique and can't be cheated--but because everyone thinks their antique is worth a fortune because they saw something similar on TV worth $20,000. There are many chrome plated lugers, re-upholstered couches, brightly polished lamps, etc. that the owners mistakenly think are worth thousands.


Condition is key. The average person thinks the item is the key to value but it is the condition. The more original information retained by the item, the more the value. I harp on that theme whenever I talk to people in hopes antiques will be protected better than they have been in the past.


The chromed luger may truly be from an SS officer. One way to handle this is to provide an appraisal with a smile. Say, "Your luger is worth about $350 to $450." You can provide some historical information about the popular habit of chroming lugers and placing photos under grips made from plexiglass aircraft windows. If they don't ask about the value of other lugers then it is not necessary to emphasize what their luger would have been worth had it not been altered. Ask them if they would like to know more about lugers in general and the range of values, types and conditions. If they do not, you need not upset them with negative comments about the condition of their luger. If they do, provide the information in a positive way.


Just my opinion.

dm

Do not dispose of the clear grips!! I did that with my first Lugar (40+ years ago) and have regretted it ever since. These grips were made from aircraft canopy/windows, (preferably downed Allied aircraft) and were very popular with German (particularly Luftwaffe) troops. If they could talk, those grips could probably tell a hell of a story, especially if they are original to the gun they are on.

I have found the same to be true the plexiglass grips. I have also seen it used on some clearly US GI applications (1911 grips, M1 Garand stock insets etc..) I can not disagree with the other comments made in this thread regarding nickle plated Lugers but it is interesting how many of these that I have seen that the owner has insisted that they were taked off the German with that finish. Many also claim that this is a factory finish which I can easily dismiss. Has anyone ever seen any solid evidence that any German officer/solider has their sidearm nickle plated?

[Joe]

Why are the chrome plated Lugers always taken from SS officers? Also, why always taken from an officer rather that an NCO or private, who usually were the "owners" of the Lugers?

[G.T.]

A life long friend of mine has a Luger that his father brought back from WW2, I always wanted to buy it if possible, because it had the most beautiful dark walnut grips I have ever seen on a P.08, but it was always intended for the family, and that is where it stayed. His father would drag it out on special occasions and tell stories about his time overseas, It seems he spoke perfect German and was quickly put to use to interogate prisoners right behind the front, he had tons of stuff, collected off these prisoners...but the only items that made it back was what he could carry, and this luger was one of them! I remember it very well....it was a 1918/1920 double date with an old nickle finish...the top half and the bottom half were different serials, but all the numbers matched on there prospective assemblies....the clip matched the frame, and by the numbers and markings it appeared to have originally been a navy....at the time we had surmized that the nickle had been done to protect it...in the salt/sea environment..

the way he got it was the way we saw it...he kept it because it was unusual and nothing more.....we never did shoot it, but from that time on, I have had a little soft spot for the old nickle white widows! till...later....G.T.

Isn't there a picture of a potentially "true" nickle plated Luger in Ralph Shattuck's book?

[Greg]

Greg, not Geg (my typing skills are worsening)

I find it amazing that such an astute group of Luger collectors seem to be completely unfamiliar with the history and background of nickeled German weapons. Most of the information I have gathered on these weapons comes from the long out of print reference, â??Adorned, Decorated and Engraved Lugers of Germany,â?� by Reinhardt Goethe, volumes I, II and III. Lugers were exclusively provided with a rust blued finish until shortly after World War I until the approximate date of February, 1923. At this time an American importer, whose name is still undetermined, inquired of the factory if the Luger could be supplied in any non-standard finishes. Apparently there had been some requests for such customized Lugers from a number of affluent American customers who were interested in purchasing them. At this time none of the German manufacturers who were busily churning out Lugers for export were technologically prepared to offer such services. Economic conditions in Germany were such that all manufacturing efforts were dedicated to mass production of guns in an effort to earn foreign exchange credits. However, a Munich manufacturer, Heinz Kaufman Et Cie, who had been a wartime contractor producing small springs and screws for various military needs, was informed of the need for special finishes for Lugers, and Herr Kaufman then contacted DWM, offering to nickel plate and engrave guns on a contract basis. Unfortunately, the limited space here precludes my going into great detail, but the Goethe volumes document many of these special export pieces. Later chapters deal with presentation Lugers manufactured by Mauser for various officials of the Hitler regime, and there are many fine photographs of the admirable craftsmanship produced by Kaufman. Volume III also deals with many examples of nickeled Lugers produced by three other companies, and documents whenever possible serial numbers and some agencies and even individuals who received them. If there is any interest, I will supply more information in later posts.

[Thor]

Yes there is a picture of one! I dont believe the story myself! Thor

Y'all are giving me such a headache!!!!!

I was sure that our family war trophy Luger was only a shooter because it had to be Nickle Plated after the war by grandpa at "Bubba's Bumper Shop". I was getting ready to see about having it sent to that special someone in New Mexico to have it put back to it's wartime condition. Now you have confused the heck out of me. (This is not hard to do by the way). I beleive I will put the Luger that I have way back in the gun safe and let my grandson try to figure it out some day.

[Deaf Smith]

[Thor]

I would, I think it is more trouble to do them! Get a $400 shooter and purty it up! Be greedy, get two! If it was my Luger I would keep it as is! Thor (Really)

In 1996 in Virginia there was for sale a Naval P04 with nickel finish, ivory grips with inlaid Wermacht's Eagle (outstretched wings) over the swast in circle (just like a Heer cap eagle), and heavily engraved in a familiar German pattern. It was discounted as a fantasy piece unrelated to the military but it had the aging and quality one would associate with a German presentation piece. I have seen a photo of a 4inch luger of similar design but it had a finger rest left grip I would not associate with pre-1945 grip designs. There were presentation 7.65 Walthers and there are duralumin Walthers and Sauers that LOOK nickeled but are not. It is perfectly reasonable to expect presentation lugers that could be nickeled--I simply have not yet seen one that has a solid provenance and that is probably because of the few super rare lugers I have seen.


One thing all the factory contracted or finished (probably contracted as the factory would not want to maintain the equipment for a handful of pistols) nickel pistols appear to have is heavy engraving--these were special pieces.


Regular production pistols--identifiable by the military inspection stamps on the receiver--probably do not exist in nickel finish because they would not be sent through regular military inspection channels and would not conform to finish rules. These were special pieces and would be commercial or special pulls from production runs. I think the WaA or C/L inspection stamps would suggest GI nickeling.


Just some opinions

[John Sabato]

Do they have ISBN numbers? The author's name doesn't come up on Amazon.com


I would love to know more. How long ago were the books published?


Thanks,


John

[lugerholsterrepair]

There is a big difference between genuine Nickle plate and chrome as in bumper chrome. I revived a 1908 luger from this horrible fate by reversing the chroming process and it came off beautifully. This pistol however was chromed, not nickled. The Germans did indeed nickle plate many presentation pistols but they did not have nor use chroming. When you see two of these metal processes side by side you will see a great difference. Nickle plate is quite pleasing and a process used by all major gun manufacturers. Chroming came into vogue early 1950's or late 1940's here in the U.S. Jerry