I am posting a Luger which I passed on. The owner allowed me to have it in hand for inspection and also allowed me to take apart to view small parts. There was a handed down story on how the gun was captured and brought back. Without any provenance or vet names, I did not allow much credit to it.
The good: All matching number parts. One matching Mag. Wood grips are matching. The finish is original. The holster is in good condition and is from 1939. 1939 date holsters are not easy to find in my area. I really like finding nice holsters.
The bad: The overall finish is what really drove my decision to pass as well as not being a complete rig. The overall bluing has become more of a matte instead of more high polish and has much finish loss in the normal areas. The left grip has the so called 'million dollar chip'. The take down tool is reproduction. I would have bought if both mags matched since it is difficult to find one with 2 matching mags.
Things to look for: Chipped left grip, 'million dollar chip'. Take down tools are commonly reproduced even though originals are easy to find. Look at mag bottoms carefully to see if they have been sanded and renumbered to match if the rig has two matching mags. Most of the time the number fonts will be off, even if done well. Have an original holster close to the production date of the gun or much later as a field replacement. Buy the gun and not the story.
John
Bookmarks