German Police Luger

I am being offered a 1941 Luger. The seller says it was a German police issue. What marks would I look for if this is indeed a police issue weapon? Was there such a thing? I will see the gun tomorrow and I will get the marks off the gun then and post here to see if any one can help. Thanks in advance.

[bill m]

Hi Tom,

Yes there is a 1941 Police model. These will have an Eagle L on the right receiver. They will have a sear safety -- which is located on top of the side plate. These can be in both the X serial range and the Y serial range. There are two variations of this model, with one having a small date 1941 and the other a large date 1941. They will have a Eagle N inspection proof on three places -- front sight block, left receiver, and left breech block. Magazine will have the serial number with suffix plus a 1 or 2.

Thanks for the reply, Bill. I didnt get a chance to see today, but the seller told me it has a serial number of 565 and it is dated 1941. I will see it tomorrow and see if it lives up to the info you gave me here. Thanks again.

[Thor]

Tom, also check to see what the toggle marking is (top view), most 41 police will have a Mauser Banner stamping, See the technical information section. Also the small letter suffix to the serial number (actually part of the serial number) Bill mentioned is important too, it is on the front of the frame above the trigger guard when viewed from the muzzle (make sure the gun is unloaded first) and it is below the serial number. Good luck, these are very nice guns. ~Thor~

Thanks,Thor. It does have the Mauser banner as you described. There is a serial nuber in the front of the frame too. If this does pan out to be a actual police issue, what would be a decent ballpark figure as to a buying price? The finish is 99% and judging by the wear on the back of the toggle, it has not been fired much at all. Thanks again. Hope to have more info to work with tomorrow.

[Thor]

Well Tom, we still need the letter suffix, the small script letter located UNDER the serial number on the frame. That will tell us, or give a good indication whether it is in the right sequence. I think Bill M will have a much better idea of worth because this is really one of his areas of expertise. See his orignal reply about the "x" or "y" subscript and see the Technical section under markings and suffix 1 for more info on the German suffix letters. It is important! These are nice Lugers and well worth collecting! ~Thor~

Ahh I see. If the letter is under the serial number, the guy probably didnt include it with the description. I will be back tomorrow to let you know.

[Jon]

greeting and happy holidays to all, a quick question,German Police Luger.. who were they issued to ? other than the police ? example SS ,gestapo , ???/

please post a reply

Everything is there as you described. The serial number is the 565y. The date on top has the large numbers. The magazine number does not match however.

It is thr "y" suffix. It has the sear safety and all the other stuff Bill mentioned. The date on the top is large numbers. Thanks for all the help. Any further advise or opinions about this Luger would be really appreciated.

[Thor]

A ball park price I would look at would be $1500-$2000 depending on condition and orginal parts and finish which is the hard part, many Lugers have been refinished (cuts the value in half easily) and the unknowing new comer to Lugers will swear that the finish is original and EXCELLENT ++ so that is tough part! It is hard to tell someone if the finish is original, if you have a minimag flashlight take it with you, take the pistol out in bright sunlight, if you see a little brown oxidation under the finish it is probably original, does the safety have the words GESICHERT painted in with a dingy white color paint and look old? Does the pistol display WEAR on the high points? Highest part of sideplate, front sides of muzzle, end of frame rails on both sides? In essence, has it been carried in a holster. A police issue Luger will certainly have been in a holster. A little bit of wear is a good thing! Good luck, if original, this is a pricey pistol, if not, $500 worth only! Buying a collection grade pistol is really by luck unless you buy books and do your homework, you will almost certainly get screwed sometime before you get educated. As I said, BILL M is the authority on these guns and prices, but I did check a couple of dealers in these Police Lugers. Check the top of the sear safety bar rivet, is it brass colored or white steel, btw, white steel is preferred! No safety paint, no wear in the right places, no oxidation under the finish, then no bueno for nada! ~Thor~

Very good. It has the characteristics such as the dingy safety paint and the very slight wear at the high spots. It came out of a collection of Lugers and I suspect the fellow displayed them as he didnt own holsters for them. The finish looks pretty original. I have collected military long arms for a while and it looks right to me. This is my first Luger though, so I will also check out the other small details you mentioned. He is asking $1500 for it, so he is in the ballpark. Thanks for all your help.

Sorry for the duplicate questions...didn't read this thread. All things considered, this is the same gun, just earlier as it is an "x" block gun, 1940. Everything is the same, dirty white geishert, honest wear, white steel colored brad for the sear safety, but I'd say 80-85% overall..Looking at it last nite, and some reference info from the Luger Handbook, I put it around $1200-1500 price range.


Ol'Duke