Help Information for 42 1939 Mauser Luger

[Chet]

I recently acquired a Luger which I need some help with, I have been put in charge of selling this for a friend whoâ??s husband has recently passed away, the history on the gun is very limited, she knows it has been in his possession for about the past 30 years or so, they were married for 26 years, other than that I donâ??t know where or whom he acquired it from. I will be the first to admit I know very little about German Lugers, and I must say I have learned quite a bit from your site so far. Please review the photoâ??s and provide me with as much information as possible. What I have determined so far is 1939 Mauser Luger Toggle marking 42 â?? Serial Number 7698 â?? All the external parts have the same matching last two digits of the serial number 98 â?? The numbers 8.81 are marked under the serial number on the underside of the barrel â?? I believe these to be the Military Proof Marks on the Right Hand side of the weapon right before the barrel on the Frame? â?? Two Eagle Looking Proofs with the 63 under them, another Eagle Looking Proof, canâ??t quite make out whats under that one. I have removed the grips and the only thing I found on the grip was the letter Q on the left hand grip. The description of the magazines are as follows â?? Magazine Number #1 - Aluminum butt plate bottom markings 571 / 633 / 2 Eagle â?? Haenel Schmeisser Pat. On the side of magazine / Magazine Number #2 - Aluminum butt plate bottom markings 6313 what looks like a cursive U â?? fXO Eagle number 37 Bottom Left â?? PO8 in the corner Bottom Right - Eagle number 37 Top of Magazine. Holster is stamped on the back Top Right Corner large block letters PO8 â?? Top Left Corner E.G LEUNERG mbh (Eagle with what looks like its sitting on a swastika) â?? BATZEN (I think the spelling on this is correct, its not extremely legible and I have be a letter or two off. â?? I have been told by a local gunsmith that the gun has been re-blued at some point in time, to me it looks good, letters and markings are crisp and not washed out, wear is typically for high points and tip of barrel, backstrap and forestrap show signs of discoloration as they should, so I am having doubts about the re-bluing question â?? I know without having the gun in hand it would be near impossible for anyone to tell me whether or not it has been re-blued, but can anyone offer an opinion based on the pictures that is obvious to a more trained eye. I am also curious about the 8.81 stamp on the underside of the barrel, Also should the grips be numbers 98 on the inside, was this standard as they left the factory, or perhaps are these a later replacement? Commercial or Military? Any information on the holster and the maker, I know the magazines are not original to the gun but doe they add or detract from the value, and last but not least a conservative ball park value, I know this is very touchy, but I am just trying to get an idea. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. Sincerely Chet.

















(Photo layout edited by John Sabato for easier viewing 08-22-2002)

[crgkstnr]

The safety "bar" is supposed to be bare steel, not blued. It's that angled bar that moves when the safty lever is moved.

According to others (Bill M?) the 1939 42 codes don't have the two digit serial on the inside of the grips. My 1939 42 code doesn't.
Craig

[John Sabato]

Chet, this is just my opinion, but I think that the assessment about being reblued is correct. There appears to be some pitting on the gun, and for a holster kept weapon the wear on blueing of the high points seems to be too little. The buffing that took place during the reblue has removed some of the crispness of the edges at the front of the upper receiver, or at least that is how it appears from your photos. The magazines are the extruded FXO type and I have seen them sell anywhere from $75 to $140 dollars each in the last year or so. The holster is in good shape but looks to me like it has been dyed black sometime since the war... it's value is at least $100 and maybe more. The grips of the Luger appear to be in good shape and I would say that the selling price of just the pistol will be somewhere between $500 and $1000, perhaps more depending on who is buying and how you sell it. These are not the prices you would get if you sell it to a dealer or trade it on something...

The 8.81 on the underside of the barrel is the bore diameter in millimeters.

You should know that there will be a single alpha character under the serial number on the front of the grip frame. This letter is an integral part of the serial number and should be on any official documentation that currently exists (like registration papers) or will be created (such as a bill of sale-if you sell it)

Let's see if anyone else will venture a guess on the value...

BTW, very nice photos Chet. Just out of curiosity, what kind of camera did you use?

[Edward Tinker]

Chet good layout in words, nice clear pictures. John and Craig's assesment on rebluing sounds good, simply because, although done well, it should show more wear and certain items sometimes shouldn't be blued.

If you look inside is it blued everywhere? Pitting or other areas that were stamped or damaged lightly after orginal bluing are the main ways to check.

As John said, reblued Lugers go for around $450 - $600 depending on where you live and what someone will buy it for. The holster looks in good shape and they go for around $150 - $200 on e-bay, magazines (one of the "spare" ones) go for $50 to $80, although Haenel Schmeisser ones seem to go for $100 and more on e-bay, I would say that 450 + 150 + 100 = a minimum of $700 as a Rig, but probably a bit more. Bit of repeat of John said, but I had already started and then saw John had replied, [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

So it depends on the market you are in, how much someone wants to pay for a Luger, as you may have noticed, people get excited at auctions on the internet and sometimes prices can be more than you'd think, if it gets bid on.

[Johnny Peppers]

Even though the holster has been dyed black, it is a very desireable pigskin variety.

[Ron Wood]

Yeh, that is a nice holster. It looks like it might have been issued as black. The inside of the holster back is black as well as the flap of the takedown tool pouch. Holsters that I have encountered that were field dyed to comply with regulations usually only have dye applied to the exterior. Maybe Jerry can shed some light on this.

[Johnny Peppers]

It was probably originally issued in black, but it appears to have been dyed black again at some later date. It appears that the outside stitching is black also.

[Ron Wood]

Agree. Black dye or shoe polish. Still a darn nice holster.

[Garfield]

Hello:

As the previous posters have opined, it would appear from the photos that your pistol has been refinished. If the safety bar is blued, and it appears to be, then commetic work has been performed on this gun. IMHO, the color of the ejector does not look correct. It may be the photo. The small parts should have been blued on the 39s. While the ejector usually does not take on the same shade of blue as found on the other small parts due to the difference in hardness ( many times it appears to be a plum color) this piece gives me the impression that an attempt was made to straw it.

As has been stated the holster is constructed of pigskin and will command a price considerably higher than one in similiar condition constructed of cowhide. Yours looks to be in quite nice shape. I have not seen or heard of a P08 pigskin hardshell in any other color other than black, consequently, I suggest that it came from the manufacterer in that color. If it has been re-dyed this would detract from the value.

I would suggest that you break this "rig" up and sell it seperately if you wish to get the "max" out of it. Normally, I would not suggest such action, however, this is not a "rig", i.e., pistol, proper holster, & 2 matching mags. You have the components, however, neither of the mags match the gun and while the holster may have been issued with the gun, it could just as well have not. While a proper rig would command a premium this package will not. However, the holster and one of the mags are desireable items and will command higer prices based on their own right. Also, I would think that, by so doing, you would attract more buyers.

The Haenel Schmeisser is a police magazine and will bring more than the the other mag which is a common military magazine. The suffix stamp on the fxo mag, by the way, appears to me an "m".

As stated, the pigskin hardshells are not common are are greatly sought after by collector. I have seen such holsters in excellent condition sell on ebay for well in excess of $400.

Good Luck

[Chet]

Wow guys, thanks a million for all the information, I see I have came to the right place, To answer a couple of questions, there is what looks like a slanted P under the serial number on the front of the grip frame that John asked about, John regarding the pictures, I use a Sony DC-P50, nothing particular fancy, I just have a little bit of an edge because I work in the computer field, so I have access to a lot of equipment, acutally I was rather disapointed in the pictures, I couldnt get any of the marking to come out as I had wanted them to, I need a camera with a higher megapixel range to accomplish that, but whit all of you guys putting the "Eagle Eyes" on it, you could of told me anything I wanted.

[Chet]

Once again gentleman, thanks for all the information, I have a tendency to agree with Garfiled in that this package may be more desireable broken up and sold seperately, that the bottom line here, I have to try to make us much money as possible for this lady. Here are some more pics and thanks a million for everything. John your in my prayers. Take Care everyone.

[John Sabato]

Chet the photos are more than adequate since there is a file size limitation on what you can upload to the forum. If you get into more megapixels, the file size will increae dramatically.

To make your proof marks and other stamps stand out when you photograph your guns, use a while grease pencil on them and wipe away the excess. That will make the stamps real visible to the camera and the naked eye. This can be removed with a good solvent and a toothbrush when you are finished.