Please take a look and give me your thoughts

[mrerick]

Hi Tom, and welcome to the forum.

Congratulations on your family heirloom and a very nice Luger.

As it's in original finish and appears to be all matching, it is a collectable Luger.

Is it a "41" dated receiver (over the chamber)? "42" code or "BYF" code on the toggle?

As it appears to be in the original finish, is in a high percentage finish state and probably has all matching numbers, it would be considered collectable.

If you want insurance values, look up something similar on the Simpsons Ltd website. That would be replacement value, and what you should insure it for.

I personally would never shoot it because of the risk of breaking an original numbered part. That reduces it's historical and financial value and just isn't worth the risk. Others differ from this opinion.

Clean it carefully. Keep it lightly oiled with a preserving gun oil. Store it away from leather (which can deteriorate the finish). Perhaps in a silicone gun sock or a zippered case.

Watch out for reproduction holsters if you decide to acquire one. Most can be fairly easily detected, but some of them are pretty well done.

Bill Lyon is right in there with the collector value of this Luger.

When you are documenting this, the suffix letter that appears under the serial number on the front of the frame above the trigger guard is part of the serial number if present.

Be particularly careful if removing the grips. They are easy to chip up by the safety lever.