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1938 Luger P 08

3K views 13 replies 6 participants last post by  Big Coulee 
#1 ·
The young lady who cleans my house has another client who mentioned he had a Luger he wanted to sell so I visited him & he pulled out a Luger & a pretty nice leather holster. The Luger is dated 1938 on the top but has rough spots on it and I only saw one part marked with the last two digits of the s/n like I've seen elsewhere & it didn't match.

He has an original magazine with the wood plug on the bottom plus a couple of other mags with plastic plugs. He said he's fired it & showed me a box of self-defense type 9mm which I thought might be a little hot for the gun. I asked if he had a selling price in mind & he immediately said "$5000" and inside my head I was laughing hysterically. He said he'd taken it to a Cabella's & they "appraised" it for him but he also said he knew the guy who founded AMT firearms in CA. The gentleman owned a machine shop in SoCal & made parts primarily for aerospace so considering AMT was in Irwindale that's quite feasible. Supposedly his friend at AMT also gave him a very high valuation. I told him I'd do some checking but after looking at my iPhone photos I noticed the holster is for a P 38. I've never owned or fired a Luger although I think they're a neat gun so I've attached some photos for your digestion. I have a number in my head as to how much I'd pay but I'd like someone with experience to provide some insight / value estimate. I think this guy is in line for a real serious letdown.
 

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#3 ·
In my opinion, if he can get $5000 for it, tell him to take it before the person offering it comes to his senses!! It is not really of a "collectors" grade with non-matching numbers and with what looks like rust marks.

A picture of the toggle and chamber markings would be nice to help identify who made it. Would also like to see pictures of the front and back of it.
 
#4 ·
He said "$5000.00"? :p:p:p:p:p:p:p:p:p! This thing belong to Herr Shicklegroober?o_O

I'm not all that sure the pistol was refinished, BUT - the side plate number doesn't match the pistol serial number. Also, there are some very large, very deep rust spots. And, when the seller whipped out a P.38 (1943) holster with a 1937 P.08 Luger, as well as P.08 mags with genuine plastic mag bottoms - I'm thinking somepin' ain't right here. Need pictures of the top of the toggle and receiver.

You need to look at all of the parts closely. Lugers are funny critters. They went crazy stamping the last two digits of the serial number almost anywhere a numbering stamp could reach. Even the skinny little extractor should be stamped with two digits.

I'm strongly suspecting that you may have a "shooter". That would be a $400-$500 range gun - IF it is in shooting condition. Check out ALL of the parts to see if they match, and check out the bore to see if it is a decent bore. Some of these look like six miles of country roads inside from the old corrosive ammo. Good Luck!
 
#5 ·
PDX 1953 I won't repeat what has been well defined above by others except to say the luger has mismatched parts and appears to have been buffed to remove an original finish. As such it appears to be a shooter, and could be a lot of fun to pop caps with.
While living in Germany I bought a S/42 (Mauser) Luger dated 1938, all matching numbers except magazine and containing about 60 to 70 % original finish. I paid the guy 700 euro (about $850) for it. The grips are German plastic replacement, I think vopo grips.
If the bore is in good shape and the gun functions (feeds, fires, ejects and reloads) without hand manipulation on your part, it could be worth $750 to $800.
Keep in mind Lugers like hot ammo. With the commercial 9mm stuff you might buy at the local sporting goods store a luger will spit and sputter and give you a hard time. Don't be afraid to use +P ammo. Lugers were made to shoot submachine gun ammo. As my German friend told me "mit machinenpistole patronen" (with machine gun cartridges). Good luck. Big Coulee
 
#6 ·
Everyone has pretty much confirmed a lot of my suspicions although I hadn't thought about it being refinished. I'm not interested in buying it now although the price I had in my head was $500 so you guys were pretty spot on. I'll call the guy & see if he can tell me who the manufacturer is but I'm familiar with the DWM marking & don't recall seeing it. I think he's in for a real shock.
 
#7 ·
$750 is high for a shooter P.08 in my humble opinion, but if it is worth it to you - it's your money. A lot of people are smart enough to read and hear things about Lugers being very valuable, but sometimes they are maybe not informed enough to know that the VALUABLE Lugers are the rare models and the pristine 100% original military models.

One thing I neglected to point out in my first response: The present owner claims this Luger is a $5000.00 collector item? That stuff collecting on the ejector bar and the trigger bar isn't "GOLD" - it is RUST. Would he/she or you let a Rolex watch of similar value ***rust***? If you are really interested in this pistol - go back negotiating with the mismatch numbers, rusted areas and the fact that this is merely a 'shooter-grade' pistol and is currently deteriorating further from neglect as your negotiating strong points.

I suggest you respectfully and politely present this information to him/her, and have a fist-full of money ($500) in your hand and show it. If they decline, you will find another - even better P.08 in the future. You will both walk away happy.
 
#11 ·
I called the owner, gave him the happy news and as I predicted he was highly incensed. He said it had a swastika on it but couldn't remember where & that the 'appraisal' from Cabela's was about a year ago.

Just for kicks I've included a couple of links for comparison to what he thinks is his $5000 gun:

http://www.*********.com/item/623027230 Sold
http://www.*********.com/item/640111305 For sale
 
#12 ·
I called the owner, gave him the happy news and as I predicted he was highly incensed. He said it had a swastika on it but couldn't remember where & that the 'appraisal' from Cabela's was about a year ago.
Well heck, just imagine if it had TWO sawstikas on it - somewhere, just not sure where. It could be worth $10,000! I'd love to see his initial Cabela's estimate in writing - assuming it ever existed.
 
#14 ·
The pics you provided of the DWM luger carbine and the byf 41 luger with holster are SUPERB examples. I'm a little surprised the sold engraved carbine went for about $5100. Original engraved carbines with engraved stock metal I've looked at had a price tag of a few thousand dollars more. But maybe the owner needed to cash out of it for some reason.
The byf luger with holster, extra mags. and loading tool is awesome !! That set could be worth $1800 to $2000 in my book. I'd like to add it to my accumulation. Thanks for the good pics.
 
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