"Presentation Grade Lugers"

[suum cuique]

Just got the new issue of the "American Rifleman" today and saw again the ad from Mitchell Mausers offering "Presentation Grade Lugers".
Has anybody experience with a "Presentation Grade Luger"?
Is this a good find or just some reblued, assembled Lugers?
Where did they get them from?

[tomaustin]

not for general consumption........

[alvin]

Aftermarket engraving. Very expansive because of the labor involved.

Just saw two engraved C96s sold on RIA a few days ago. One sold for $14000+, another sold for $7000+. People must thought they were factory, or simply loved the pattern.

[Edward Tinker]

These Mitchel arms lugers and in fact anything I have seen them sell are not original, factory items....

[MikeP]

It is amazing how many people fall for Mitchell's spiel.

I had a respected member of an SF vet board get his shorts wadded up when I presented the actual facts.

They must make money, considering the advertising they do.

[PhilOhio]

Yes Andy, you've probably got it about right:

"Is this a good find or just some reblued, assembled Lugers"?

This person has been at it for quite some time, with all the types of firearms they sell...nothing original or collectible about them, in the way most of us would use the term "collectible".

They sell functional, attractive, and quite shootable reworked firearms...which is what they are: reblued shooters, sold for far more than what they are worth, in my opinion. But it's a free country, and the late P.T. Barnum would be quick to agree.

The whole operation pivots on slick, colorful, well planned magazine advertisements with long-winded tales of great wars and verbage designed to paint glorious pictures of heroic fantasy in the reader's mind. But it's only about reblued surplus guns and glitzy salesmanship.

Several acquaintances here have purchased them; people with more loose money to spend than firearms knowledge or common sense. I've examined some, and they are perfectly fine shooters, arriving in nice packaging.

I've always been mildly curious about where this fellow rounds up his raw material and how much he pays. I imagine he has co-opted various dealers and repair people to be on the lookout for used, mildly worn guns which look like they might still shoot if a few worn parts are replaced, they get a quick buffing, and a dip in the bluing tank. And I would suspect that they are bought for bottom dollar wholesale prices.

I am guessing that all or most of the Lugers came from the big buy of ex-East German VOPO Lugers released a few years ago, and retailed for just under $500 each. Wholesale quantity price was probably around $200 or less. And notice that the ads say nothing about import markings. I don't know where else one would buy enough cheap Lugers to rehab them, boost the price 300% to 500%, and pay for national magazine ads.

There is nothing technically illegitimate about any of this, but when the novice "collector", or person who fancies himself one, is motivated to pay a lot of money for something which is worth much less, and which has close to zero true collector value, my eyebrows go up. A naive person trying to resell one of these guns anytime soon will take a bath on his "investment", and hopefully learn a valuable lesson in gun collecting. It's a Franklin Mint sort of thing.

Paying $1500 for an article otherwise available for around $500 is not shrewd use of one's money, especially in a flagging economy.

[suum cuique]

Originally Posted by PhilOhio

Yes Andy, you've probably got it about right:

"Is this a good find or just some reblued, assembled Lugers"?

This person has been at it for quite some time, with all the types of firearms they sell...nothing original or collectible about them, in the way most of us would use the term "collectible".

They sell functional, attractive, and quite shootable reworked firearms...which is what they are: reblued shooters, sold for far more than what they are worth, in my opinion. But it's a free country, and the late P.T. Barnum would be quick to agree.

The whole operation pivots on slick, colorful, well planned magazine advertisements with long-winded tales of great wars and verbage designed to paint glorious pictures of heroic fantasy in the reader's mind. But it's only about reblued surplus guns and glitzy salesmanship.

Several acquaintances here have purchased them; people with more loose money to spend than firearms knowledge or common sense. I've examined some, and they are perfectly fine shooters, arriving in nice packaging.

I've always been mildly curious about where this fellow rounds up his raw material and how much he pays. I imagine he has co-opted various dealers and repair people to be on the lookout for used, mildly worn guns which look like they might still shoot if a few worn parts are replaced, they get a quick buffing, and a dip in the bluing tank. And I would suspect that they are bought for bottom dollar wholesale prices.

I am guessing that all or most of the Lugers came from the big buy of ex-East German VOPO Lugers released a few years ago, and retailed for just under $500 each. Wholesale quantity price was probably around $200 or less. And notice that the ads say nothing about import markings. I don't know where else one would buy enough cheap Lugers to rehab them, boost the price 300% to 500%, and pay for national magazine ads.

There is nothing technically illegitimate about any of this, but when the novice "collector", or person who fancies himself one, is motivated to pay a lot of money for something which is worth much less, and which has close to zero true collector value, my eyebrows go up. A naive person trying to resell one of these guns anytime soon will take a bath on his "investment", and hopefully learn a valuable lesson in gun collecting. It's a Franklin Mint sort of thing.

Paying $1500 for an article otherwise available for around $500 is not shrewd use of one's money, especially in a flagging economy.

Thanks Phil,
thats what I expected.