Relative collectability of WWI pistols

[mrerick]

Collectors seek a gun as close to it's original factory state as possible. That means all matching, original finish, mechanically fine. Once finish is below 80% I consider it no longer collectible unless it's something particularly rare.

"Restoration" doesn't restore collectability either. A "pretty" Luger isn't necessarily a collectible one.

Note that "matching numbers" may not count if someone replaced parts with ones that happened to have the same numbering. It's the original state of the gun, not just that numbers have been forced to match.

Processing by Russians or East Germans may make it collectible to someone that is focused on Russian Captured guns, but there are not many people focused on that.

Import marks render it not collectible for many of us. It's a shooter at that point with a few narrow exceptions especially if the marks are particularly visible. Same thing with deactivation.

Your budget needs to be $1500 or more at this point unless you happen upon a particular deal - but beware of "deals". Most collectors and dealers know what they have.

That said, I once bought a DWM Luger that contained an original Krieghoff magazine. Sale of that magazine paid for a significant portion of the pistol's price and a replacement proper magazine.