Commercial Luger Markings

[ithacaartist]

Dick, you may be saying to yourself right now, "I thought it would be worth more than that!" However, the ground-off lug relegates it to the "shooter" category. Its other deficiency/barrier to collectibility is the mismatched breech block. One could have the stock lug restored, at a cost of around $400, and search for another original breech block numbered 97, to restore its configuration. But that would not restore its originality, which is gone forever. If you sell it privately, you may reap more than the ballpark max, but maybe not. If it had not experienced these things and were original and matching, it might have been worth closer to a fat thousand. Post WWII, U.S. firearms regulations served to confuse many into grinding stock lugs from their Lugers, so your pistol is very likely a member of that little club. One aspect of the situation you will find encouraging is that it will definitely be desired by someone, and it should be a good shooter and quite accurate. There may be a few more estimates of value that trickle into this thread, but, once again, David is on the mark with the ballpark. Commercial examples generally bring less than military-proofed ones, and the .30 Luger caliber is problematic mostly because of the relative difficulty obtaining reasonably priced ammo for it--or brass, if you're a reloader; it would have been worth a bit more if it were 9mm. It does not happen to be any kind of distinctive or rare example, so no help for the value in this respect.

Stay tuned, as there may be more input to the thread. Then, by all means, post it up here on the site for sale, at the price you wish. I'd be surprised if no one grabs it, if your price makes sense. After that, there's always Gunbroker or any of the myriad firearms auction/classified sites. Best of luck!