1917 DWM Artillery

[Lugernut123]

Hi all, I made a thread a while ago about acquiring my Great grandfathers 1917 DWM Artillery luger.

I recently took it to my local gunshop and had it test fired, taken down completely, cleaned, oiled and had a small amount of rust under the grips removed.

The guy at the shop who did it also typed up a summary of the pistols condition for me. He described the bore as "excellent condition", and stated the pistol is in fine mechanical order.

He also stated the finish is around 92-95%. He said its one of the best condition artillery lugers he has seen.

However, he was unable to give me a value figure, althought he did describe it as "rare and very valuable"..

The only downside to this is as follows: my great grandfather etched his SSN on the front grip underneath the trigger.

With this summary in mind, and all things taken into account, how much do "excellent condition" all matching (except magazine) lugers usually go for? I also have the original holster and butt stock as well. Looking for ballpark figures.

I am sorry I can't provide pictures at this time.

[DavidJayUden]

By underneath the trigger, do you mean down the front grip frame where the shooter's fingers would normally wrap around, or someplace more discrete?
Is the stock numbered to the gun? All the straps, boot and mag. pouch with it?
Depending on these answers, and considering a lack of photos, I'd ballpark it at $2500 to $3500. That seems a bit low, but then again there just isn't a lot of money out there for this stuff these days. The SSN thing hurts too, but I just can't say how much. Depends on how large, how deep, etc.
I'll be interested to see the other estimates.
dju

[Lugernut123]

Originally Posted by DavidJayUden

By underneath the trigger, do you mean down the front grip frame where the shooter's fingers would normally wrap around, or someplace more discrete?
Is the stock numbered to the gun? All the straps, boot and mag. pouch with it?
Depending on these answers, and considering a lack of photos, I'd ballpark it at $2500 to $3500. That seems a bit low, but then again there just isn't a lot of money out there for this stuff these days. The SSN thing hurts too, but I just can't say how much. Depends on how large, how deep, etc.
I'll be interested to see the other estimates.
dju

Thanks for your reply.

Yes I am talking about the front of the frame where the bottom three fingers wrap around. It is fairly shallow etching, and not really noticeable unless you look closely.

The stock is numbered to the gun i believe. I do not have a mag pouch.

I do however have the cleaning rod and the takedown tool.

Thanks again

[mrerick]

Hi John,

I actually think that David's estimate is high in today's market.

It's true that as the all original matching pistols get closer and closer to factory state their values go quite high, that's because a collector wants one that way.

The etched SSN in a very visible place keeps it from reaching that desired condition at the high end. The matching stock definitely adds to it's value. I think around $2000-$2500 might be closer to current market. Pictures help a lot on this if you can post them.

Now, that said, one with very little usage and wear is certainly more valuable. I just don't think it is that much more valuable.

I don't think it advisable to have the SSN "fixed" because a restored one is considerably less desirable than an original, even with the etched number (which at this point is part of it's history).

If you're looking to sell it directly to a collector, recent auction prices realized may be a good indication.

If you're looking to insure it, you want replacement value. For that look at what a retail dealer (Simpsons, Ltd; Checkpoint Charlies; FGS etc...) would want for one.

Marc