Info on BYF 42 rig?

mrerick · 09-05-2014, 12:18 PM

Hi Kemp, and welcome to the forum.

You have what appears to be a very nice and collectible Luger. Double check to make sure that the internal parts numbers match. The grips may or may not be internally numbered. Use great care if you remove them, particularly the left one up by the safety lever.

The "f" block of 10,000 Lugers was made just before the middle of the year during which over 100,000 42 date Lugers were made. Probably in the late Spring or early Summer. The nice thing about this year's pistols is that they had stopped using numbered aluminum based magazines, so the plastic based FXO magazines are matching for the variation (and are more valuable as a result).

The black plastic based FXO magazine is correct for this gun, and could well have been captured with it. The E/655 tool is from an earlier period as is the E/63 blued tin magazine. Both are WW-II vintage and correctly accompany the pistol as many parts were swapped around during the war. They could equally have been assembled by a collector post war.

The Luger looks to be in a high state of finish condition (95%) with some light edge wear. All numbered parts should have the last two digits of the serial number. e.g. "65" If any don't match, it eliminates considerable value and collect ability. Look inside the side plate. There may be no number present in there. If there is one, it should be one digit higher than the first two digits of the serial number. e.g. "80"

I also recommend not firing collectible pistols. This is because breaking a numbered part reduces the historic and financial value quite a bit. This really does happen, and we occasionally hear the sad stories on the forum.

As to value, look at the Simpson Ltd site for similar rigs to gauge the retail replacement value. Insure for that amount.

A collector value would be less. Perhaps $1900 for the pistol and one magazine; $225 for the Bakelite based FXO magazine; $250 for the holster. $85 for the tool. If you are in this for under $2500, you did well.

Lugers are addictive... enjoy!

09-05-2014, 12:18 PM	#6
mrerick Super Moderator - Patron LugerForum Life Patron Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Eastern North Carolina, USA Posts: 3,925 Thanks: 1,377 Thanked 3,139 Times in 1,520 Posts	Hi Kemp, and welcome to the forum. You have what appears to be a very nice and collectible Luger. Double check to make sure that the internal parts numbers match. The grips may or may not be internally numbered. Use great care if you remove them, particularly the left one up by the safety lever. The "f" block of 10,000 Lugers was made just before the middle of the year during which over 100,000 42 date Lugers were made. Probably in the late Spring or early Summer. The nice thing about this year's pistols is that they had stopped using numbered aluminum based magazines, so the plastic based FXO magazines are matching for the variation (and are more valuable as a result). The black plastic based FXO magazine is correct for this gun, and could well have been captured with it. The E/655 tool is from an earlier period as is the E/63 blued tin magazine. Both are WW-II vintage and correctly accompany the pistol as many parts were swapped around during the war. They could equally have been assembled by a collector post war. The Luger looks to be in a high state of finish condition (95%) with some light edge wear. All numbered parts should have the last two digits of the serial number. e.g. "65" If any don't match, it eliminates considerable value and collect ability. Look inside the side plate. There may be no number present in there. If there is one, it should be one digit higher than the first two digits of the serial number. e.g. "80" I also recommend not firing collectible pistols. This is because breaking a numbered part reduces the historic and financial value quite a bit. This really does happen, and we occasionally hear the sad stories on the forum. As to value, look at the Simpson Ltd site for similar rigs to gauge the retail replacement value. Insure for that amount. A collector value would be less. Perhaps $1900 for the pistol and one magazine; $225 for the Bakelite based FXO magazine; $250 for the holster. $85 for the tool. If you are in this for under $2500, you did well. Lugers are addictive... enjoy! __________________ Igitur si vis pacem, para bellum - - Therefore if you want peace, prepare for war.