What is this thing?

[John Sabato]

Welcome to the Lugerforum...

You didn't mention the caliber (.30 caliber Luger or 9mm Luger) but Here are your photos adjusted for size and brightened a little... Click on the thumbnail to see the photos full size...

<a href="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/luger_11242003_a.jpg" target="_fullview"><img src="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/luger_11242003_a.jpg" width="400" alt="Click for fullsize image" /></a>

<a href="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/luger_11242003_b.jpg" target="_fullview"><img src="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/luger_11242003_b.jpg" width="400" alt="Click for fullsize image" /></a>

<a href="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/luger__11242003_c.jpg" target="_fullview"><img src="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/luger__11242003_c.jpg" width="400" alt="Click for fullsize image" /></a>

From all appearances, your Luger is a 1917 Commercial pistol (Germany stamped on the front sight base left side?) but marked in the military serial number style... It does appear that the gun may have been refinished at some point after manufacture which would lower its collector value. The toggle although not shown should be marked with the DWM (Deutsche Waffen und Munitions Fabrik) logo.

Without better photographs and a detailed listing of all the stamps on this gun, I can only bracket the value for you to somewhere between $400 and maybe $900... There are detailed identification sheets listed on the General Information pages which you can download and record all the info that would be necessary for a better ID and value guess. Tell us what all the marks are and the guess can be much closer.

The holster is an unusual commercial type which may or may not be of the same period as the pistol. No guess as to the value...

The magazines are the best type available ...the extruded steel FXO type of late WW2 manufacture and are worth $100 or more each.