New (to me) Luger

[wdavid431]

Got a commecial Luger at the local gun show. Probably paid too much, but it is the only Luger I have seen for sale in over a year.
75%--80% blue remaining and is 30 cal. Vertical crown over N on receiver and lazy crown over N on toggle. No Germany or Made in Germany markings and no inmport marking. All numbers match. Serial number is 526u. Serial numbers are in the commerical gun places. Grips are unmarked and seem to be black (which could be years of dirt, etc). Mag has 1217 marking on bottom of black knob thing (it is very hard to make out). The rest of the mag is not blued but alumn color appearance.
My question is about when was this pistol made and what would be the proper Magazine for it.
Thanks for any info and help.

[thegundude]

Can you post some pictures of both the gun and the mag. That would make things so much easier to get right...

[MFC]

Warren,
According to Still's Weimar Lugers, your comm. was made late 1929/early 1930.
With the very low S# probably late 1929. It is classified as a 29 DWM. Right before production moved to Mauser at Oberndorf. Most of the 29 DWMs were police models. Of the 30,000 produced, only 1650 were commercial. Kinda rare. Maybe you didn't pay too much.
The mag. should be nickel or tin plated with an unmarked wood bottom.
Mike C.

[wdavid431]

Wow, that is great to hear. Out of 1650 for commercial use I actually got one. You are right, maybe I did not pay too much. With no import or Germany markings, I was thinking it is certainly a vet bring back.
I will try to get pictures if I can remember how I did it last time. Guess I better check the info on this forum about posting pictures. Thank you for the fast reply.
I am not at all familar with the 29 DWMs. Anyone know if the value of this pistol is any more than a regular Luger (even though, to me, there is no such thing as a "regular Luger)." They all are exceptional.

[MFC]

Of all the Lugers made, the alphabet commercial is the most common. 29 DWM is only distinguished by the s,t or u suffix, so many think it is a "regular Luger" as you put it. Yours is rare, but is there a demand for it? I think a lot of gun dealers that don't specialize in Lugers wouldn't recognize it's rarity and thus wouldn't add value to it. You're definitely not going to find it in the Blue Book of Gun Values. Among Luger collectors I would think it has added value. I know I would pay extra for it, but the question is how much more???
Mike C.

[wdavid431]

The people on this forum are great. Great in knowledge and in responding to questions. Thank you all very much.
However, I have one more question about my Luger. There is no strawing color on the parts where it should be. Is this dirt, oil, dip, or made that way. When did the process stop which caused those part to have the golden color we refer to as strawing.

[MFC]

Warren,
A Luger with 75-80% blueing remaining, could easily have faded/worn straw parts. Gray or silver color. They were originally strawed. The change to all blue was made mid 1937 on S/42's (Mauser).
Mike C.

[Lugerdoc]

David, The original straw color is a thin surface heat treatment and very prone to wear. TH

[wdavid431]

Thanks to all. My new Luger are at peace now and it has a home forever.

[MFC]

My new Luger are at peace now and it has a home forever.

Glad to here that. There's no way you paid too much.
Mike C.