ID and appraisement of WWII Luger

[rusttv]

My father recently died, and to pay off his bills we need to start selling off his gun collection. We've got a reputable dealer we know we can trust, but our biggest asset and worry is a WWII Luger that my great-grandfather took off of a Nazi officer. The finish is original and in great shape, and this is what my mom said about the markings, history, and accoutrements:

Nazi gun and holster that Irvin took off a Nazi officer that he had captured in Berlin (he was with the us army group that Russia handed over to
the US in the first day or so after the soviets took the capital)

Black leather holster containing gun and clip.
Stamped on the holster are the initials jme and the nazi eagle with a ball/globe in its talons with the swastika in it (I'll call it the nazi stamp).
Stamped on the upper right side of the holster is P 0 8

The Gun (Was told it was disabled befire Irvin brought it back)

the slide that cocks the gun has a crown stamped on it with 42 FRFURT below it

Left side of gun has 6888 stamped on it a 37 and the words Gesichert

Right side of gun has 3 nazi stamps...one small and two tiny stamps side by
sde with the number 135 stamped under the 2 tiny stamps.

ALso taken from the Nazi officer was an Iron Cross with 1939 stamped on the
front and 1813 stamped on the back; as well as various ribbons, lapels pins,
and a red arm band with a swastika on it.

Please if anyone could tell me what we have I will worship the ground you walk on for saving our butts! If anyone has an idea of what this is worth, that would also be appreciated too. We do have an interested buyer; we've just got to name a price. We just don't know a damn thing about guns.

 

[SigfanUSAF]

Gesichert means safety.
Galadin(sp?) on the extractor means loaded. Yes a 100 year old loaded chamber indicator.
42 Frfurt? 1942 production? Frfrt- probably place of production????
P-08 being the model (Pistol-m1908)
can you post pics?

BEWARE who you sell this to, and for how much. Theres a lot of people in this country who love Lugers, make sure you get a real appraisal before you unload it. I'm sure there's guys on here that can provide a lot more info than me, but I'll guess in the 2000 price range?

 

[rusttv]

we do plan on having it appraissed, but we want to get some sort of idea on how much it is worth and what it probably is. A good friend of mine referred us to a reputable dealer in Duluth, MN but the gun is in Minneapolis and that's about 4 hours away so it hasn't happened yet. Can we trust any old reputable dealer with this or not? We know this is a valuable item and we're trying not to get screwed. I keep on bugging my brother for pics, and I will post them when he gets them to me (which might be 2 days or 2 months). Any advice in the meantime will be appreciated.

 

[SigfanUSAF]

I wouldn't trust anyone to value that firearm but a professional firearms expert with NO interest in the gun. Even the best gunshops will offer at most 50% of its value. I will gladly take it off your hands for that BTW, the 135 with the Nazi eagle are waffenampts, or Nazi proofs.

 

[kennedy]

try the luger forum on gunboards.com, they will tell you what you have

 

[Bullet Bob]

http://forum.lugerforum.com/index.php

Some real luger nuts at this site

 

[Roadkill]

42 is a the Code for Mauser, Erfurt was one of two WWI Luger factories. The other was DWM. The 6888 stamp is the serial number. The 37 is the last two digits of the serial number. What it sounds like you have is an Erfurt frame with a Mauser toggle. Each part of a Luger has the last two numbers of the serial number stamped into it. A "correct" Luger is all matching, original finish, matching numbered magazines, and the correct holster for the period. I'd have to see the gun and the numbers to correctly identify which maker it is. Regardless, it isn't "correct" as far as collectors are concerned. This in no way diminishes its family value. As recommended, go the the lugerforum. Tell them Roadkill sent you. My guess would be that it has a value to a buyer of $500-$700.

 

[Jim Watson]

Check out the real Luger boards.
About all I can tell you is:
Erfurt manufactured Lugers only from 1911 through the end of WW I in 1918. Naturally any weapon on hand was reissued in WW II.

Military Lugers have the last two digits of the serial number on every major part. If they don't match, the gun is not strictly original. As Roadkill says "42" was the WW II Mauser manufacturer's code. However, if it is on the center toggle along with the Erfurt crown, that means that it is off an Erfurt made gun, serial number xx42. Sounds like it has parts off gun no xx37, too. 6888 is the main serial number but there ought to be a small letter after or under the four digit number unless it started out as a very early gun.

Since the Erfurt marking seems not legible, and it has Nazi Waffenampt markings, it was probably reworked, refinished, and remarked after Hitler took over in 1934. The 135 markings are for Mauser at Oberndorf 1941-1945.

I wouldn't guess the dollar value, the accutrements would add something - the jme stamp on the holster means he likely got it at the Armee und Marinehaus, Berlin-Charlottesburg sometime in or after 1941. The Germans had code marks for about every military item.

Sorry you are having to sell off great granther Irvin's souvenir.

 

[jonnyc]

I would question why/how the pistol was "disabled". That could also seriously affect the value.

 

[RON in PA]

Looks to me that you have a parts gun which drastically reduces the value. The holster itself has some value. Don't be suprised if a dealer offers you less than $400 for the pistol. If all parts matched including magazines you could double that.

 

[unspellable]

Luger

Some of the original holsters can be worth a pretty penny.

In the case of WWII bring backs the rank of the soldier it was taken from tends to grow in the telling. German officers, especially of an yrank, rarely carried a service pistol. They bought heir own and it was generally something smaller, meant more as a badge of rank than as a serious combat weapon. Non-coms and a few lower rank officers were generlally the ones carrying fll sized military issue service pistols. In addition, in WWII the Luger was second line issue, the P-38 was primary issue. But conditions were chaotic i ngermany as the war neared its end, so there are plenty of exceptions. (Except that if you see Goering's personal nickle plated Luger, it's a fake, I have the real one at home.)

The guys at the Luger forum will sort it out for you. (I'm one of them, but I bow to the others on exact identifications.)

 

[antsi]

I know this isn't what you're looking for, but I would really try to avoid selling that gun out of the family. If it is a mixed parts gun and does not have huge collector value, you are trading family history for a few hundred dollars. Not worth it. Sell all his other guns if you have to, but keep this one in the family.

 

[alamo]

Senior Member
I know this isn't what you're looking for, but I would really try to avoid selling that gun out of the family. If it is a mixed parts gun and does not have huge collector value, you are trading family history for a few hundred dollars. Not worth it. Sell all his other guns if you have to, but keep this one in the family.

I agree. My grandfather was in WWI & WWII. He brought back a 1908 first issue Luger from WWII. My dad gave it to me a few years ago and I'm happy to have it. My father could have sold it over the years for a small amount. I'm glad he didn't. I will give it to my son one day.