A good example of what to watch out for

[Zamo]

Here is a 1936 S/42 that seems to have it all. But while I am no expert, just about everything that could be wrong seems to be wrong, so I thought I'd post it here in an attempt to help new collectors avoid some of the worst pitfalls in Luger collecting.

Here is the original auction:
Gunbroker all matching 1936 S/42 w/ 2 matching magazines

Great, just happens to be exactly what I'm looking for, and with a matching set of magazines and holster...this could be my lucky day!

Here is the text the seller has submited:

"1936 Mauser in excellent condition. 9mm with both numbers matching magazines. Absolutely beautiful dated (1936) number matching holster with tool included. Beautiful grips that have very sharp checkering and no cracks. Gun has no boogered screws. All numbers matching. Bore is very good. At first I thought this gun may have been refinished, but after looking at markings especially on toggle & reading that Mauser actually did a lot of reworking, I am questioning that thought. Action seems excellent. I have not taken this gun apart (as I don't know how, and I am not going to try). What you see is what you get so if you have any questions or concerns call Rich at 989-640-1449, before you bid. Again, I think this is a real beauty with both numbered magazines (1 & 2). Also a absolutely beautiful Leather Holster (that is also numbered to gun). You look at the pictures and you be the judge. Thanks for looking at our auctions, and have a Merry Christmas."

OK, ignoring the friendly Merry Christmas for just now, let's just see what we're really looking at here.
First picture shows a nice enough Luger from the left side.

Looks pretty good. Here's the right side.

Again, the finish is very nice, no rust visible, no dings...Ready to buy?
A beginning collector who hasn't read much or talked to a more seasoned expert would be getting pretty excited by now. The finish looks great, and so do the grips.
Ah! But a more seasoned eye can already tell it's time to run far away. Or at least doubt the veracity of the sellers story, and relagated this poor pistol to the status of being "a shooter" by what's shown in the photos. Can you see what they might be?
Let's take a look at a few more angles. First the top:

See anything wrong? The last two digits of the serial number have been stricken out, and two other numbers, which match the rest of the pistol have been stamped just behind the S/42 stamping. Game over. If you didn't catch the fact that the strawed parts were blued in the first two pictures above, this one here should be a dead give away. All matching indeed. And while I'm not sure, I don't think a 1936 should be stamped "P08" on the side either. Hmmm.
Here is a picture of the rear of the pistol. There are at least two things questionable here, possibly three:

First, most Lugers I have examined show a little bare metal where the toggle cams back onto the frame, just above the lanyard loop. It is not visible here. Secondly, it is very rare for a +65 year old pistol to have absolutly NO wear on the grip strap. Most show a healthy patina in this area. Another red flag unfurls. A third possible problem is the serial number stamps, I can't place it, but these just don't look "right" to me. Perhaps they are too big, perhaps they are too shallow, but they don't seem right. It may be that I am being tainted by the bad taste the force stamped serial numbers on the front of the toggle, which is actually more than enough.
But let's continue. This auction is just getting better and better!
Remember what I said about wear on the grip strap?

I don't see any either. There may be pistols with little or no grip strap wear, but they are few and far between, and not starting for 0.01�¢ with no reserve on Gunbroker. See the other problem in this picture?

Exactly! You're catching on fast! I'm going to let the markings on the barrel slide for now (but it sure looks like a "Crown N", which shouldn't be there on an S/42, and where the heck are the barrel's serial number stampings?), however, that big "X" stamped at the apex of the trigger guard, below the cursive "k" indicated this pistol spent some time in the USSR...without the Wehrmacht.
The Soviets captured millions of German firearms during the "Great Patriotic War", and never wasted any resource that could possibly help drive foreign invaders from the steppes of Mother Russia. All captured weapons were eventually sent to an arsenal to be repaired, refinished, and re-used. This "X" explains all of the other problems we've seen on this pistol in one shot. These pistols were all re-finished by being dipped in a tank of hot bluing solution after the were repaired, and re-stamped. Numbers were frequently re-stamped after replacement, and the pistols were then re-issued, or put in a warehouse somewhere to eventually be sold to greedy Capitalists for a HUGE profit.
But our lesson isn't over yet. Take a look at this picture of the right side:

See all those great proof marks? There's too many! There should be three. I suspect the first marking to the extreme left is the name of the company that initially imported the pistol, but the photo isn't clear enough to be sure. Here you can also see the blued take-down lever, and trigger, which should be a golden straw color on a 1936 S/42. Bluing came halfway through 1937.
As the guy on T.V. says, "WAIT THERE'S MORE!". Here is the holster in the auction:

Doesn't look too bad, for a WW2 piece of leather, does it?
...Because it's NOT! Take a look at these classy markings on the rear:

If these are authentic 1936 stampings, I'll eat it!
They didn't even have this shoddy of stampings at the end of the war when the Russians were marching through the Brandenburg gate! Bogus stampings on a post war reproductioin holster.
Getting tired of reading? Me too. But still...STILL there are more surprises ahead. Remember those two matching magazines? I've known people to still pay a good penny more for a pair of matching magazines on an otherwise "shooter" grade Luger. Maybe we can still find something of value here:

Nope. Not with these. Note the rivet in the finger grooves on the aluminum bottom piece. Not 1936 German, and I don't even have a clue what that marking is, other than it is NOT any period correct marking I've ever seen. Post-war aftermarket magazines, both.
"But wait!" your saying, "they had matched serial numbers to the pistol..."
Right. Let's take a look at that too, shall we?

By golly, they DO match! Except that to be correct they should also have some eagles and other Third Reich markings, and a "+" for the extra magazine, and both are missing the much harder to reproduce cursive "k" which should be with either real magazine. Again...bogus.
I don't wish to impune the integrity of the seller. There is no evidence he even has a clue what he's trying to sell. However, somebody sometime decided to cheat, and doctored up this Luger pretty heavily. It is a prime example of the kind of crap fledgling collectors have to learn to identify and avoid. This pistols value is nothing more than a well equipped shooter. However, with all the dishonest forced matching and other dubious attempts to boost it's value, I personally wouldn't even think of buying it for half it's current price. I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole lest someone down the road associate my name with these piratical markings.
I hope you new collectors found this post useful. Due to time and space constraints, I've glossed over quite a bit. Buy books. Read them. THEN spend your hard earned cash. You won't get suckered.
I'm going to bed now.