In the market for a luger

[hexum77]

Hey guys. I've been saving quite some time for a nice, decent luger from the 30's to the 1942 final production date for the military (Don't want a commercial one). I'm looking at online auctions and I see that a lot of the ww2-ish era lugers aren't going for their asking price. Would $1800 be a reasonable price to pay for a all matching 1941 'black widow' luger in (what seems to be) good condition? Is there anything I should look out for? What kind of markings do I want to check to make sure it's legit and has all military markings? I'll attach some images of the specific one I want



Yes, I know there is no such thing as a black widow, but it's just easier to identify them as that.













Look like a decent buy?

 

[KenW.]

I once had a buddy who ran a pawn shop. He showed me a Luger and said it is the most valuable and rare one anywhere around. I asked if it were an artillary model or something. He said no, it's just a plain run of the mill Luger; except that... THIS ONE WORKS!

 

[MIL-DOT]

One of our local pawn shops sells on Gunbroker, and they recently had a pristine 1942, all #'s matching Luger, with 2 magazines. It was bid on a few times, but fell short of the reserve, so they relisted it. Last week, the minimum was reached, then the last few hours bidding picked up again, and it finally sold for $1551.
I had it saved in my favorites while I was watching the sale, but I've since deleted it, or I'd post a link so you could check it out. I don't know,is it possible to view previous sales on GB ? ( I know you can if you saved the link.)
In my view, if you're sure you want one, and a nice one shows up, then you better get it while it's there, if you can swing the bucks. Several years ago, I found a rifle I'd been slobbering over for decades, a nearly NIB Israeli Galil, with a bunch of mags, for $1800, but I didn't want to spend the money. Now, they're more like $3000, if you can even find a nice one. Lesson learned .

 

[hexum77]

Haha yes working lugers are great!

So I'm not quite sure if you're saying $1800 is too much since you saw a prestine one sell for $1551, or if you're saying get it while it's hot haha. Also, you can see old GB auctions but you have to have the link

 

[hexum77]

I noticed this luger only has a 3 digit serial number. Is that normal/legit? I thought they usually had 4.

 

[Bushpilot]

once had a buddy who ran a pawn shop. He showed me a Luger and said it is the most valuable and rare one anywhere around. I asked if it were an artillary model or something. He said no, it's just a plain run of the mill Luger; except that... THIS ONE WORKS!

I don't think it is such a rare thing for a Luger to work properly...

 

[Jim K]

Luger numbering started at 1 for each maker for each year. It went 1-9999, 1a-9999a, 1b-9999b and so on. So there are 1, 2, 3 and 4 digit numbers with and without a suffix letter, but obviously more 4 digit than 1-3 digits, and repeated numbers. That is why anytime a unique identification of a Luger is needed, it must have the date, the maker, and the entire serial number with the letter suffix if any. Example: P.08 Luger pistol, made by Mauser (byf) in 1941, serial number 1234c. Nothing less is a valid identification. If the description simply says "Luger #1234" there are many Lugers that fit that description.

I once saw a stolen gun report that said "German gun, serial #1234". I wonder if innocent people have had their guns seized because of such stupidity.

Incidentally, the term "Black Widow" was invented by an American collector. The black grips were just one type of grip that was used both by the factory and as replacement grips. Not super secret made just for Hitler, or any other nonsense.

Jim