New member needing help

[John Sabato]

Welcome to the Lugerforum.

I concur that this nice looking Luger has been nicely refinished. The finish is too nice for the military Luger that it is... the grips are modern Swiss replacements, and very serviceable for shooting. Enjoy this gun as a remembrance of your brother... and do enjoy shooting it. The value is approximately what has been quoted to you... About $700 in today's market. Because it has been refinished, it has little collector value.

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by John Sabato

The value is approximately what has been quoted to you... About $700 in today's market. Because it has been refinished, it has little collector value.

I would say that figure is being generous. But that would be the valuation of a collector...

I have only owned 5 Lugers; two I bought in the '80's, and only paid ~$350 for...neither had been refinished...

About 2 years ago, I bought a commercial in pretty much the same condition that yours is in; refinished, with new replacement grips. IIRC, I paid ~$850, being completely unfamiliar with prices or collector values. I used prevailing "sold" prices from GunBroker.com as my guide. In fact, I bid on at least a dozen before 'winning' my refinished commercial.

Were you to sell yours, on an online auction like GB, I would not be surprised if it went for a similar price of $800+...because it would only be newcomers to the Luger mystique bidding on it, attracted (as I was) by a nice looking finish & grips, and not knowing that those actually detracted from its value.

One of those paradoxes, where it is actually worth more to someone who has no idea what it is than to a knowledgeable collector.