Relative collectability of WWI pistols

[mrerick]

Collectors seek a gun as close to it's original factory state as possible. That means all matching, original finish, mechanically fine. Once finish is below 80% I consider it no longer collectible unless it's something particularly rare.

"Restoration" doesn't restore collectability either. A "pretty" Luger isn't necessarily a collectible one.

Note that "matching numbers" may not count if someone replaced parts with ones that happened to have the same numbering. It's the original state of the gun, not just that numbers have been forced to match.

Processing by Russians or East Germans may make it collectible to someone that is focused on Russian Captured guns, but there are not many people focused on that.

Import marks render it not collectible for many of us. It's a shooter at that point with a few narrow exceptions especially if the marks are particularly visible. Same thing with deactivation.

Your budget needs to be $1500 or more at this point unless you happen upon a particular deal - but beware of "deals". Most collectors and dealers know what they have.

That said, I once bought a DWM Luger that contained an original Krieghoff magazine. Sale of that magazine paid for a significant portion of the pistol's price and a replacement proper magazine.

[Stu]

Originally Posted by mrerick

Collectors seek a gun as close to it's original factory state as possible. That means all matching, original finish, mechanically fine. Once finish is below 80% I consider it no longer collectible unless it's something particularly rare.

"Restoration" doesn't restore collectability either. A "pretty" Luger isn't necessarily a collectible one.

Note that "matching numbers" may not count if someone replaced parts with ones that happened to have the same numbering. It's the original state of the gun, not just that numbers have been forced to match.

Processing by Russians or East Germans may make it collectible to someone that is focused on Russian Captured guns, but there are not many people focused on that.

Import marks render it not collectible for many of us. It's a shooter at that point with a few narrow exceptions especially if the marks are particularly visible. Same thing with deactivation.

Your budget needs to be $1500 or more at this point unless you happen upon a particular deal - but beware of "deals". Most collectors and dealers know what they have.

That said, I once bought a DWM Luger that contained an original Krieghoff magazine. Sale of that magazine paid for a significant portion of the pistol's price and a replacement proper magazine.

I appreciate your points about collectability. Force matching's a real challenge, sometimes you just can't tell.

I'm not in the 'real' collectable market, out of my reach, but just want to find a good honest gun. Budget wise I'm in the 1500-2500 range, but at that point, in the current market, determining if a gun is fair value isn't always easy. Right now, just finding ones for sale is proving a challenge !

[Vlim]

It all depends on your views.

To me a 1920 mark on a WW1 era gun is a bonus, not a devaluation. I like to be able to follow and document the 'life' of a gun when possible. Part of the fun. A nice example is a first issue P08 that can be traced throughout 20th Century German military service from 1909 to the 1970s.

Import markings can be applied in a sublte way or by bubba with a blunt chisel. The way they are marked has impact on the desirability. You see this with mandatory reproofing in certain EU countries as well. Some are decent, some afwul but it also depends on the rarity of the gun. I noticed that nowadays certain EU auction houses like will have guns reproofed prior to auction in order to increase the audience. Not ideal.

But it shouldn't be too hard to find a decent straightforward WW1 example.

[Stu]

Originally Posted by Vlim

It all depends on your views.

To me a 1920 mark on a WW1 era gun is a bonus, not a devaluation. I like to be able to follow and document the 'life' of a gun when possible. Part of the fun. A nice example is a first issue P08 that can be traced throughout 20th Century German military service from 1909 to the 1970s.

Import markings can be applied in a sublte way or by bubba with a blunt chisel. The way they are marked has impact on the desirability. You see this with mandatory reproofing in certain EU countries as well. Some are decent, some afwul but it also depends on the rarity of the gun. I noticed that nowadays certain EU auction houses like will have guns reproofed prior to auction in order to increase the audience. Not ideal.

But it shouldn't be too hard to find a decent straightforward WW1 example.

I agree that a 1920 adds to the history for me personally, as I can only really afford 1 gun, but I also understand the 'as 'original' as possible. I keep looking at a 1913 / 1920 which meets my criteria, but, I suspect it was refinished at some point, likely pre WWII. Top of my budget though, and I suspect a bit overpriced.