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S/42 Nickle

seanile boaterseanile boater Member Posts: 5 ✭✭
edited March 2006 in Ask the Experts
I have a nickle (I think it is nickle) lugar S/42 with 1938 stamped on the barrel top, 4738 stamped on the side and some strange symbols on the housing). The grip appears to be Walnut and inside the grip is the number 38 along with 38 stamped on the side of the barrel. The original holster(great condition) and 2 original clips. All in absolute mint condition. My father bought it from a War Veteran over 40 years ago and to this day I can not find anyone that knows anything about it's worth etc. I was with him when he bought it from the very old man that said he was able to sneak it home after the War. It is an absolutely beautiful piece and the rifleing looks great.
Can anyone help shed some light on exactly what this may be worth ?
thank you
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    p3skykingp3skyking Member Posts: 25,750 ✭
    edited November -1
    Nowhere close to what it would be worth if someone had not nickled it. You Luger was made by Mauserwerk in 1938 and most probably used by the German army in WWII.
    The 38's you are seeing are good. They are the matching serialized parts that are original to the weapon.
    To a collector, the holster may be your prize in this as the pistol is demoted to shooter status.
    More information is needed before you can get a true value, but ballpark, $200 or more for the holster (IF it's original German WWII) and about $550-$650 for the pistol. If the magazines are good, original, they go for $75 or so, but in 1938, they were numbered to the weapon.
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    seanile boaterseanile boater Member Posts: 5 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks for the information. What I remember the old man telling us was that the pistol was taken off a German SS Officer by his Seargent. The nickle plating definatley looks professional and the orignal stamps or symbols indicate German origin. The holster certainly looks original and the clips have 38 stamped on them also. Every part of the pistol has been plated.

    Thanks again
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    nmyersnmyers Member Posts: 16,881 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    No doubt the plating DOES look professional. In the late '40s & '50s, lots of Lugers were plated by the GIs who brought them home; the guns were common, & no one thought that they were collectible. There are a bunch of them out there.

    Hopefully, the mags weren't plated, as they could be worth as much as the holster. A blue loading tool is easily worth another $50.

    Neal
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    jonkjonk Member Posts: 10,121
    edited November -1
    Since the original finish of the gun has been destroyed, if it were mine I'd have it professionally reblued. In my opinion, there isn't much uglier than a nickle or chrome plated gun if it wasn't made that way originally; much like spraypainting a bunch of rustoleum onto a factory fresh car.

    Your call though, I'm just throwing it out there as a thought. If you like how it looks, kudos. As to value, I think the above estimates are pretty good; one thought though, some mags have metal bottoms, some wood; which do you have?
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    seanile boaterseanile boater Member Posts: 5 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks for the idea. Will the value of the pistol change again if I have it reblued.

    Ths magazines have what looks like aluminum bottoms.
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    seanile boaterseanile boater Member Posts: 5 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    We also purchased a Walther P1 from that same person. Great condition and I like the feel of it. Not sure what I have here either. I am trying to find out about these 2 since his passing.

    thanks for the help
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    nmyersnmyers Member Posts: 16,881 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    It would cost much more to strip the Luger & reblue it than it would increase in value.

    The P1 is a post-war version of the P38 with an aluminum frame. It is a German police trade-in. A bunch were imported about 5 years ago, & sell in the $250-300 range.

    Neal
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    drsckdrsck Member Posts: 992 ✭
    edited November -1
    The other folks have covered the ground pretty well. The issue of the value is light foggy, however. There are more and more "refinished" lugers showing up at auctions these days. Just look over some of the previous catalogues of any of the large auction houses and you'll find some. In its present condition, your's is certainly worth no more than the $500-$600 mentioned. However, if it was in very good/excellent original condition, folks are asking and occassionally getting as much as $1500 with a good holster. Now, if you go over to Ted's Lugers (http://members.rennlist.com/lugerman/), you'll see that he gets $375 (plus shipping) to reblue a 4" luger. What I don't know is what he'd charge to strip off the old nickle. In any event, if we take into account the fact that it would be refinished, and add the $375 (plus shipping and cost of stripping nickle) to the $500 it's now worth, you'd have a luger worth around $1000 with the holster. Let us know what you decide -- Steve
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