Opinions on this Luger rig

Sorry to see that you gave up on the other luger. I'm not an expert, but I had less reservations about that one than I do this one. This one is referred to by collectors as a Mauser Banner Police. It is far more rare, especially with a matching magazine and holster, than the other one. Here are a few of the issues: 1) according to Aarron Davis, Standard Catalog of Luger, there were only 4700 of these made in 1940, meaning that it would be a prize in an advanced luger collection, 2) the serial number on the front of the frame "doesn't look right", 3) the take down retainer pin is protruding much too far out of the frame, suggesting that it has been taken out and replaced, 4) the waffen amt on the left side of the frame above the serial number doesn't look right, 4) the grind marks under the banner on the toggle are unusual, 5) the overall colors and finishes suggest that this luger may have been "restored" 6) if it were offered by Simpson Ltd., (and yes, they are a little bit pricey) with a matching mag and holster, it would be in $4000 -- $6000 range. . . at least! Several years ago, there was a well known collector, now passed, who periodically would offer that "too good to be true" luger. I got stuck at least once that I know of, but it was only for a couple of thousand dollars. With the matching mag and holster, this one might be a candidate for that "too good to be true" type of offering that he produced. Best of luck and let us know what you decide.

castile said:

I candled my offer on the other 1940 as I did not catch it was a mismatch. 93 and 98 just did not see it till pointed out. This one is all matching including the holster and mag. Not sure what I should offer for it.

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Which parts were mismatched on the the other,??

castile said:

The bolt toggle was 93 and the rest ended in 98. Very easy to miss on a once over.

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Ok this type of mismatch I really find intriguing. And I do not question your decision because we must live with the expectations of others and what we want for ourselves... But is this really a mismatch???.. I see this now and then in Mausers, were you see a near prefectly matched rifle with one part misnumbered and its off by a number or two..

Have always thought that this probably was just a mess up at the Factory.. Now I am not trying being simple here but is that really a Mismatch.??

Guess I always think mismatch weapons are ones put together to get one functioning from the bodys of its fallen brethren. If done at the factory its not rebuilt.

Of course the question that comes to mind is prove it..


I do like this ones holster.. A Luger holster is a work of art.

This is coming from a person who's never had a inclination to get a Luger, nor is it my category of interest but
Not exactly what it is or not, it's still in great shape and still worth a buy if you're getting a decent deal on it . So I'd take it for $2000.

castile

Like drk1 I was thinking it might be priced somewhat higher, say around $5000 and up. Not saying this is based on any prior knowledge about the value of collectible Lugers; just that it kind of strikes me as being in that price range.

Offer $2500 max, Don't buy if $3000 or over as it look refinished. The Russians were good at it since the 90s on rare ones they had around. Yest the 93 and 98 mixmaster makes sense, as they cleaned them in big pots with water and soap to kill the chlorate primer deposits and those numbers look alike when they were picked back together .

Gordon said:

Offer $2500 max, Don't buy if $300 or over as it look refinished. The Russians were good at it since the 90s on rare ones they had around. Yest the 93 and 98 mixmaster makes sense, as they cleaned them in big pots with water and soap to kill the chlorate primer deposits and those numbers look alike when they were picked back together .

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If you look at the photos the gun is really numbered 96 with the 93 mismatched part. Still look like the same number.

- Finish does have that "too good to be true" look. Have to see it in person.

- The font of the serial on the front of the frame is different from the rest ; look at the lack of base on the numeral 1 . Personally I do not know if that is a red flag , I am just noting the difference.

If I were considering spending that kind of money I would vet that pistol on the Luger forum. Those guys miss nothing.

Gordon said:

Offer $2500 max, Don't buy if $3000 or over as it look refinished.

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My thoughts exactly. I just sent back a 1937 with an early serial # because the straw parts were blued. The 37s weren't all blued until the later numbers. Also the take-down lever was rounded off from too much polishing before the reblue. Mine was easy to spot. Not much time taken with a $2000 gun but a rare gun is worth the extra time to a "faker" because the reward is so much higher.

Also, are those black plastic grips on this one? I think that "black widows" were after 1940. They had black bakelite grips and 42 over the chamber plus the byf on the toggle top. They also had a black plastic bottom to the magazine.

I just saw this: https://www.gunsinternational.com/g...r-p-08-9mm-1941-ww2-wwii.cfm?gun_id=101490481

More believable but not with a matching magazine or holster.

Waveski said:

- The font of the serial on the front of the frame is different from the rest ; look at the lack of base on the numeral 1 . Personally I do not know if that is a red flag , I am just noting the difference.

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I would not at all worry about numbers having different fonts.. Because in this case the "1" striker used in the front is a different size and different striker then what was used on the side frame. As a example lets look at this lugar.. I do think these guys know their crap..

https://www.legacy-collectibles.com/1938-mauser-luger-matching-magazine-12509.html

And you can see in this pre-war example there are differences in fonts..

This all is once again scaring the hell out of me looking for a luger... You know there is real merritt to getting a mismatched shooter.. you are knowing what you are getting.

indy1919a4 said:

This all is once again scaring the hell out of me looking for a luger.

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As someone on The Luger Forum said, "The tuition at Luger University is steep." The more you study, it seems the less you really know.

Patocazador said:

As someone on The Luger Forum said, "The tuition at Luger University is steep." The more you study, it seems the less you really know.

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Excellent. Congratulations.

Good price ! Yeah $2500 is reasonable for a great Luger set up like that . I sold a Swiss banner 7.65mm 4 3/4" one a few years ago for almost that , I wanted $3000, I took $2400 offer

I don't know much about gun auctions, but something sounds odd to me. That's a$1000 diffetence between what you bidandwhat they want you to pay? If I re as lly wanted it, I would tell the auction house to split the difference. Maybe I'm just cheap, but I would tell them thst if I were the next highest bidder,sell it to you for what you bid, or de acc l with the deadbeat and possibly a no- sale.

How much did the deadbeat bidder bid??
How was the bids handled??
So How much is the actual gun...??
How much is buyers premium..???

And who the heck is this auction house..?? They need some looking into.. sure it may be on the up and up but my spidy senses are tingling..

Also and this is tough love time.. If one can not tell a BIN from a real auction.. You need to step back and reflect what the problem was. Did you not read it correctly??? or was it not represented the best by the action house and was the auction laid such that it was hard to tell.?? Either answer should give some reflective pause..

Also You need to look at the bidding on this item, see how the bids were taken.