No More Lugers

[Patrick]

I was leafing through the last issues of two German gun magazines (Vizier & Caliber) - not one Luger was on offer! But there were four "wanted" ads.This is a first time ever in the land of Lugers. The only Lugers to be found are from dealers specializing in top price collectible items. And their prices have gone through the roof (see http://www.collector-arms.de). It was bound to happen - and now it has. Patrick

[Marvin]

Patrick,


Thanks for adding the link to the dealers site. As I was looking at the prices in DM, they did not seem to be off very much from the top dealers in the US when converting to US Dollars. I assume that the 1 & 2 indicated the condition of the pistol with a 1 being the best. Actually, some of the prices were less than a top collection piece in the US. There was a CZ-27 that would be approx. $150 in the US and that would be a good price. The Navel Luger was a bit pricy, but I bet it is nice.


With all the "Flap" over the Swastika from e-bay and others, do collectors of Third Reich weapons have any problems with them on Lugers or K98k rifles? Can the weapons be shown in an open case in a gun shop?


Please keep us informed with info like this and the links to German dealers; I love to read them.


Marvin

[Patrick]

Marvin, there�´s no problem with Wa stamps here. They�´re too small to worry about.But I sometimes think that we�´re cutting it a bit fine with some of the pics on the Forum. Anyway, it�´s no good chasing the bullet - so let�´s just wait and see. German Luger prices oight seem OK for the U.S. but we�´re just not used to them. The only Lugers on the market at the moment are from private owners. Herr Werle told me that he saw it coming and stocked up. I suppose that a lot of others did the same. And now they�´re all gone. Patrick

[Thor]

This is a sad commentary for a fine weapon that was mass produced in the millions. I wonder if anybody had a clue on how many were destroyed after WWI and then again after WWII. How many survived the rages of War and the after maths of conquering armies and political climates? I have always wondered this. ~Thor~

[Patrick]

... and where else would it be worth looking to find an untouched arsenal hidden away? Bulgaria?

[BILL]

I have always thought that the Iraqis might just have a few cases of little used Persian contract Lugers (always stored in low humidity, of course).~..dreaming..~

[Walt]

According to Walter's "Luger Book", the Allied Commission collected 4,560,861 pistols of all types after WW I, and destroyed 4,533,907 of them. Assuming that the remaining 6.954 were certainly not all Lugers, these relatively few surviving P-08's would have been those reworked for the Weimar military and police with only those weapons captured or hidden by their owners instead of being turned in, making up theÃ?Â*balanceÃ?Â*of WW IÃ?Â*datedÃ?Â*Lugers available since the end of theÃ?Â*war. All in all, an extremely tiny percentage of production. In addition, following WW II, Walters quotes an example of many thousands of Lugers thrown into the English channel by returning British troops who had picked them up from surrendering German troops in Denmark. Seems the Brits did not trust their fighting men enough with personalÃ?Â*weapons toÃ?Â*allow themÃ?Â*to bring these 'illicit' pieces home as souvenirs. He cites an individual saying that a diver could probably walk from Calais to Dover on tossed out parabellums. So many made. So few left.

[Big Norm]

Marvin,


generally there is no problem showing nazi anything at gun, antique shows and so forth. This includes flags, weapons, pictures amd so forth. On weapons, laws and regulations will vary from state to state, from city to city and of course there are the federal regulations. I would not fly a nazi flag from an outside flag pole. But if I had a good collection of nazi era lugers in a spare room in my house then I might have a table with a nazi flag drapped over it with my collection on it. The book "Mein Kampf" is sold in book stores. But it is not really very interesting, its long and Hitler seems to ramble alot. So its not a big seller, if at all. Its boring! Thats probably one good reason why its not carried in many stores more than any other reason.


The Luger is really an imperial WW1 gun than a nazi era gun. The p-38 replaced it in 1938 but the Germans had a lot of Lugers in their warehouses, so they used them. The P-38 is really a better weapon. I collect the Imperial era lugers because I like the strawing on the guns. I think that the lugers of that era were handsome weapons and are historically more interesting. I have become an amateur historian of the 1900 to 1920 era because of the luger. But to each their own.


I also have two dachshunds. Kiaser Wilhelm also had two dachshunds. So I am interested in finding a picture of him, on the throne with his two dachshunds at his feet. I would also like to know the names of his two dachshunds. I think that this would be treated no differently that getting a picture of Hitler with his German Shepard (blondi). To ME, these two political people at of historical significance and not of political significance. I might make up a display of the Kaiser but I would not consider it an alter to worship at. I am of Polish\German descent and I have bought lugers off of Jews. I do not think of the luger as politically symbolic of that era. But some may.


The german military rifle is a good hunting rifle and many people use it for that reason. But modern rifles are lighter and better made. Amunition is also easier to get for modern rifles. But there are collectors of them and they can be bought easily. Most government rules apply to pistols and fully automatic weapons. But if you know what you are doing you can buy them

[Marvin]

Norm,


many thanks for the additional information on firearms and other wartime stuff that are not "politically correct" these days. I am glad to hear that there is not a total ban on this as I feel it was a part of history and should be studied. I stay with mainly the Third Reich era weapons and other memorabilia. I agree that the Imperial Lugers are really nice, but I must stay with one era or a collections gets to be a little rag-tag with a mixture. I do own several Imperial and Weimar Lugers, but they were brought back after WWII. Most of them probably saw some type service during this period.


Marvin