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Luger and Walther PPK from World War 2

1K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  rrioja 
#1 ·
Sometime around 1980, I was living in New Jersey. A friend introduced me to a woman who was originally from Austria but lived in Connecticut. She told me that she and her husband had been drafted into the German army during World War 2, after Germany had annexed Austria. She was issued a 7.65mm Walther PPK, and her husband was issued a 9mm Luger (Parabellum). He was an attorney and they both had desk jobs throughout the war. Neither of them saw much action, and their weapons were hardly used. After the war ended, they migrated to the US. At that time, gun control was practically non-existent so they had no trouble bringing their guns with them. Her husband eventually passed away, and years later she decided to return to Austria permanently. She did not want to keep the guns, which had been packed away in a closet for decades. She asked me to help her dispose of them legally, so I offered to buy them from her. I have had the guns with me ever since.

The Luger is in excellent condition. The serial number is 6668, and all serial numbers on all parts of the gun match. It has two magazines (with the same serial number as the gun), and a shell holster which has a pocket for the second magazine, and another pocket for the loading tool. It is rare to find a gun with all matching serial numbers, both original magazines, the original shell holster, and even the original loading tool. I even have the original ammunition that was in the gun. This Luger has the G and S/42 acceptance stamps associated with Mauser. There are other acceptance stamps on various parts of the gun. I looked them up on the http://www.germandaggers.com/Gallery/GLP.php web site and from what I found, this gun was probably manufactured in 1935, and is now considered rare.

The Walther is also in excellent condition. The serial number is 302288 K. It has the two original magazines, and the shell holster which has a pocket for the second magazine. I even have the original ammunition that was in the gun. There are acceptance stamps on various parts of the gun. I looked up the serial number on the web site http://www.tague.at/pistolen/en_index.htm, and I believe that this gun was manufactured in 1940.

I would like to sell these collector's items, and I would appreciate any info on what they might be worth.

I have lots of pictures of both guns at my web site http://www.rvadlist.com/Guns

Thank you,

Robert A. Rioja
robrioja@gmail.com

 
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#4 ·
Robert You are a very fortunate man to have such valuable pieces in your collection. The G date Luger was indeed made in 1935 and with the original holster, magazines and loading tool with same serial number as the gun I believe it would be worth about $5000 or more . I have a G date Luger 100% matching (except magazine) as well with holster bearing the same number as the gun. Original finish on the pistol is about 95%. Unfortunately the number on the mag. doesn't match the gun's number and I don't have a matching loading tool. My Luger with matching holster is valued at $4500 .
The Walther PPK pistol with original holster and magazines should be valued at $2000 to $2500, as you describe them . I have a Walther PPK pistol that appears to be a rather late war time piece that came with a black cardboard (pressed paper) holster. The pistol has an eagle c stamp behind the trigger well and Nazi proof marks on slide, frame and barrel . The magazine has the Walther banner and 7.62 mm stamped on the lower body. Everything appears to be 100% original. My pistol and holster is valued at $1200 .
You should be able to get close to $8000 from a serious collector for the two units as you describe them . Good luck.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Congratulations on having a very nice pair of pistols. As has been explained, the luger is the more valuable of the pair. As you mention, it is known as a "G date luger" because of the large "G" on the chamber, meaning it was made in 1935, relatively early in the NS era, and which means G date lugers tend to be valuable. There are three things that would probably serve as a guide for most collectors considering your pistol: 1) condition, 2) where exactly in 1935 production run and 3) 2 matching magazines. First, a great deal depends on condition, and while yours appears to be in very good to excellent condition, as someone already said, the photos are so big that they are blurry which makes for difficulty when assessing condition. Second, an important consideration with G date lugers is determining exactly when they were produced during the production run. Generally the G date lugers are divided into three catagories of early, middle and late acceptance marks, with the mid-acceptance marked ones being the most rare. If that was all we knew, it would seem that your luger appears similar to ones currently for sale by a well known dealer in the $3800 to $4000. However, you note that you have two matching magazines. This is the third consideation in putting a dollar sign with your luger. In today's market, two matching magazines can drive the price so high that there are at least a couple of guys out there faking magazine numbers. In addition, you have a nice holster. The empty stitch holes suggest that it may be a converted artillery holster, which would make it more interesting to some collectors.

Now... what to do? You have several options: sell it yourself which has lots of pitfalls includiing probably not getting the best price; sell it to a gunshop or collector which also means not getting the best price; or allowing an auction house to sell it for you. I do not work for any auction houses, but I have bought and sold with many of them. Each auction house has its strengths and weaknesses. Look over the biggest ones and make your decision based on what you discover. Keep an eye on a couple of things, however. First, what percentage does the auction house take: this varies between 0% and 20%. And second, what are the "hidden" costs: some charge for shipping, receiveing, advertizing, etc. etc. etc. all of which eats into your bottom line. There is company that has an auction running this weekend (Amoskeag) and others that have auctions in the near future (Poulin, Rock Island, James Julia, and Morphy). There are several lugers listed in each auction but I don't specifically recall if there were any G dates. Check them out and watch what happens. Pay close attention to what the auction company estimated the sale price to be and what the actually selling price was, but then also remember to calculate the percentage the company keeps, if any.

One final thought, however, would be that before you commit to any one auction auction house, tell the "expert" at each auction house about the history of the pistols and the fact that they came from a husband and wife. The G date lugers and the PPK suggest that rather than simple "desk jobs" they were of some significance in the police bureau. Then, after having shared that, ask the "expert" if he or she thought there might be a benefit in keeping the pair together. I know that some collectors like to keep such items together. In this case, if there were more provenance with the pistols, I strongly suspect the answer would be yes, but without some sort of substantial documentation, I think the answer will be "no." It will only take a few minutes to explain and ask and it's better to have asked than wonder every after. It is worth asking and the "expert" probably would be the best judge of the current market. Best of luck and let us know what you decide.
 
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