Authenticity Issues

bradsimpson · 07-12-2002, 04:44 PM

Curt,
There are certainly a lot of fake or restored Lugers out there. But they can only fool people who don't know the difference. This forum is a great vehicle for helping collectors learn what to look for.

After years of buying Lugers for our list, I've seen about every type of fake Luger out there. Many of the inexpensive Lugers are only a few markings away from being expensive variations. This is where the temptation starts.

A great example of this is on page 179 of Randall Gibson's "Krieghoff Parabellum". There you will see the only example known of a 1941 Krieghoff. The gun is dated 1941 on the chamber and appears to be mint condition.

But there is a big problem. The gun had already been photographed when it was a 1940 Model. You can see it on page 175 of the same book. The serial number is the same (you can even see that the numbers are aligned the same.) But then it was just a common "1940", and only about 80% blue.

And remember, this was over 20 years ago. <img src="graemlins/nono.gif" border="0" alt="[nono]" />

The more collectors are educated about this type of activity, the less likely they are to become a victim. [img]smile.gif[/img]

07-12-2002, 04:44 PM	#10
bradsimpson User Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Galesburg, IL Posts: 135 Thanks: 0 Thanked 17 Times in 9 Posts	Curt, There are certainly a lot of fake or restored Lugers out there. But they can only fool people who don't know the difference. This forum is a great vehicle for helping collectors learn what to look for. After years of buying Lugers for our list, I've seen about every type of fake Luger out there. Many of the inexpensive Lugers are only a few markings away from being expensive variations. This is where the temptation starts. A great example of this is on page 179 of Randall Gibson's "Krieghoff Parabellum". There you will see the only example known of a 1941 Krieghoff. The gun is dated 1941 on the chamber and appears to be mint condition. But there is a big problem. The gun had already been photographed when it was a 1940 Model. You can see it on page 175 of the same book. The serial number is the same (you can even see that the numbers are aligned the same.) But then it was just a common "1940", and only about 80% blue. And remember, this was over 20 years ago. <img src="graemlins/nono.gif" border="0" alt="[nono]" /> The more collectors are educated about this type of activity, the less likely they are to become a victim. [img]smile.gif[/img]