"Private" Questions from New Members...

[John Sabato]

I would like to share a Private Message (sanitized to protect the innocent newcomer ) in hopes that it will encourage other new members to ask their questions directly on the forum.

I am frequently asked questions in private messages that are generally of a nature where the both the questions and answers should be in the public part of the Lugerforum so that all may benefit...

I don't mind answering questions, but what makes moderation of a forum such as this difficult is when you get asked the same questions over and over again by dozens or scores of newbee's ... it takes lots of time.

Here is a typical example, and my response. I hope that it will encourage new members to ask their questions in public. Remember, we were all new at this hobby at some point and there is nothing to be embarrassed about. This forum is about sharing our knowledge.

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Originally Posted by (A New Member)

How would you know when looking at lugers that they are not fake?

...or how much they are worth?

(The new member's name was here), not a simple answer, but basically a matter of experience. I am 63 years old. I started reading about Lugers when I was about 13 because my Dad brought one home from WW2.

Since that time I have read every book I can get my hands on that mentioned Lugers. I have an extensive library of very expensive books.

I have been to more gunshows than I can count, and examined large collections of Lugers. I have studied literally thousands upon thousands of photographs posted on the Internet, (Ebay, here on the Lugerforum, other gun related websites, etc.) ...and I have been part of some amazing discussions and theoretical evaluations of Luger examples with advanced collectors of Lugers from all over the world.

You may be aware that Ralph Shattuck (Largest private Luger collection in the world to my knowledge) just passed away recently, and just a few months ago, Tom Armstrong (a master class collector of truely unique Navy Lugers, and other rare guns) passed away. Both were personal friends of mine for many years.

I noticed that you joined the Lugerforum in 20(XX), but you have only posted once? I hope you have been reading and learning about Lugers from some of the worlds experts on Lugers on this forum since then.

The only way to tell a "faked" Luger from a real one, is by having the experience of handling many genuine "ones", and by noticing the really small details that the forger can't perfectly duplicate.

This experience can be passed on to others through books and open discussions on the internet, but there is no short answer...

How much is a particular Luger worth? That all depends on who wants it, and how rare it is. You can study public websites like Gunbroker and Gunsamerica.com for similar examples and see what they are selling for... also some dealers that specialize in Lugers have websites like Simpson's, so you can also check to see if they have a similar variation Luger and see what their price is.

Market conditions change, but values seldom vary very much market wide... A shooter Luger in North Carolina, will sell for pretty much the same price as one in Arizona... You just have to watch and monitor the trends if you intend to be a serious collector, or at least knowledgeable about this hobby.

I no longer collect guns... including Lugers... but I do collect information about them because it fascinates me personally about the history of these firearms. That simply makes me a resource for others who have questions and I am happy to offer my OPINION on what they ask about.

I may not be wiser than many who frequent our Lugerforum, but I DO have 50 years of experience in studying them... and some find that experience valuable.

In the future, I would appreciate it if you would post your questions publicly on the forum, because that is what the forum is all about... sharing of ideas and information so that it makes us all wiser... your questions can receive answers that many can benefit from.

kind regards,



John S