1939 luger

[al in pa.]

hi, i'm normally at an m1 forum but was asked by a friend to post about his luger . i'll do the best i can with the nonclemature
1939 - top of reciever/action
serial 1715, all parts stamped 15,no replacement parts.
s/42 on toggle
under right safety, GESICHERT
blonde wood grips ,lightly worn smooth,no chips
heraldic eagles / mauser military proofs on barrel and frame
TT or PI symbol - straight wing eagle - drop wing eagle on frame and drop wing eagle on barrel
shiney bore,strong rifling
bluing 80% ?? guess. worn blueing on sharp edges and weak blue on rest no rust or pitts
friend bought in 1955 for $50 from ww2gi bring back.
any info and ballpark value would be appreciated
sorry no pics
thanks in advance
al in pa.

[Edward Tinker]

Hey there Al, welcome to the forum, saw your post last night and hoped some more knowledgable folks would venture some words of wisdom. No go, they must be gettin X-Mas trees.

So, some almost words of wisdom;

[quote] 1939 - top of reciever/action
serial 1715, all parts stamped 15,no replacement parts.
s/42 on toggle
under right safety, GESICHERT
blonde wood grips ,lightly worn smooth,no chips
heraldic eagles / mauser military proofs on barrel and frame
TT or PI symbol - straight wing eagle - drop wing eagle on frame and drop wing eagle on barrel
shiney bore,strong rifling
bluing 80% ?? guess. worn blueing on sharp edges and weak blue on rest no rust or pitts... ballpark value would be appreciated<hr></blockquote>

So, the 1939 is the year, S/42 is Mauser code
Ensure that ALL matching takes into account interior parts too, such as {quote from my friend Dwight}
The following parts should have serial numbers on them:
Frame, full serial number with suffix
Under barrel, full serial number with or without suffix
Left side of the receiver, full serial number without suffix.
All the following parts should have the last two numerals stamped on them:
Firing pin
Extractor
Sear bar
Breechblock
Front toggle link
Rear toggle link
Locking bolt (takedown lever)
Side plate (with a few exceptions through the years, see comments on side plate)
Trigger
Safety lever
Safety bar
Hold-open latch
Grips (inside)

GESICHERT is for the safety

Ballpark figure without pictures is harder, a minimum is around $500 for a shooter, slightly damaged, rusted, pitted, mismatched and a bit up in some areas of the country.

A wild guess, although they did not make as many 1939's, as say 1940, plus there are several subvariations and this can add to the value of a gun. But $700 - 800 would probably be a reasonable guess, with any variations making the price go up.

[Dwight Gruber]

Don't forget, that a 1932 regulation specified stamping the last two numerals of the serial number on the end of the rear toggle pin--all post-1932 Lugers should be so marked,

--Dwight

[al in pa.]

thank you gentlemen, the info is a start to find out more about this luger.
any idea wich mauser factory this gun was produced?
how about shooting it? i know it opens the possibility of damaging a #stamped part ,therefore reducing value,but my feeling is guns were meant to be shot ,not alot mind you,just occasionally.
comments please
al

[John Sabato]

welcome Al,

The Mauser factory is in Oberndorf, Germany... it is still there.

You answered your own question about shooting it. It is a matter of personal choice on how much risk you think is involved... but I am with you. They were designed to be shot. Not cased and looked at.