3 Decade Yearning: Model 1914 German Navy Luger

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  • mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,337
    Catonsville
    Mawkie,

    Very nice pistol. With all the historical arms that you have, do you have a room set up that is organized by time period and country?:lol2: I would pay admission to walk through a room or hall with the history you have collected and look at the progression of firearms technology, with you as the guide.


    Q

    Wish I had room to do that! As a teen I devoured any and all books on history, esp. 20th Century. I nearly lived in the library. I was given an adult library card which allowed me access to the adult stacks when I was 10 yrs old as I had gone through everything in the children's stacks. That small act of kindness by our librarian, Ms Rose, was liberating. I can still remember my amazement at all the titles I had access to 50 yrs later. Yet I didn't start collecting historic fire arms until I was in my late 20's. Started out as a pure shooter. Got involved with IPSC in the early years, shortly after it's inception. Then moved to MD after college and discovered local shops and shows that showcased historic collectibles. Stuff that the shops back home in PA didn't bother with as everyone there was focused on hunting and sports shooting.
     

    SmokeEaterPilot

    Active Member
    Jun 3, 2011
    524
    Mawkie, a genuine congratulations. I have a good friend that specializes in German firearms, of his extensive collection he's never been able to snag one of these. I've only heard of them because he said they're an exceedingly rare Luger variant.

    With all your luck on acquisitions. I'm glad I don't compete with you on US small arms haha
     

    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,337
    Catonsville
    Mawkie, a genuine congratulations. I have a good friend that specializes in German firearms, of his extensive collection he's never been able to snag one of these. I've only heard of them because he said they're an exceedingly rare Luger variant.

    With all your luck on acquisitions. I'm glad I don't compete with you on US small arms haha

    Ditto. If you do this long enough and aren't a total bridge dwelling troll, you'll make friends in the community and will possibly butt heads when chasing after the same stuff. It's happened to me occasionally. Sometimes with comical results. Thank God I haven't lost any friends over it.
     

    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,337
    Catonsville
    Holster heads out today to Jerry Burney, the Luger holster expert, for repair. Looking forward to getting it back in solid condition, hopefully good for another century.
    Now starting the search for a proper magazine and cleaning rod. Let's pray that doesn't take 30 yrs!
     

    Alan3413

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 4, 2013
    16,921
    Do you intend to shoot it? Just curious 'cause a gun's just carefully shaped metal pieces unless you can take it to the range.
     
    Jul 1, 2012
    5,711
    Sometimes it's better kept as an historical artifact/work of art vice risking damage to a rare and valuable all-matching gun...
    plenty of mismatches, overhauled/refinished Lugers out there to use on range day :)

    I have that same discussion about P.38's which are more prone to breakage (slide and lock block).

    You may get away with it the first shot, first 100, etc or it might break on the very first shot like some have found to their horror and chagrin.

    There's a tipping point where it goes beyond being just a functional tool and becomes a piece of history (or investment) that should be preserved.
    That point is typically different for each collector though!
     

    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,337
    Catonsville
    Do you intend to shoot it? Just curious 'cause a gun's just carefully shaped metal pieces unless you can take it to the range.

    This is a tough one for me personally as I have such vivid memories of shooting my first Imperial Navy Luger all those years ago. But somd mustangs is right. If I break a matching part the value takes a hit. It's tough enough that the take-down lever on mine is a replacement. Had that been original then my guess is the value would have bumped up $500 or more.
     

    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,337
    Catonsville
    Had a nice conversation on the phone yesterday with Jerry Burney. He wrapped up the re-stitching of my holster and it heads back to me today. Jerry was impressed with the overall condition and it was his opinion that the black dye was German applied. So I feel much better about it.
    And having earlier mentioned Imperial Navy Luger fakes, we were discussing a 1917 dated Navy Luger rig that went to auction near where I grew up in SW Penna. last Thursday. The auction house is one I've visited before and their focus is on sporting firearms. A stock, holster, mag pouch and Erma .22 conversion kit were part of the rig. Jerry had an expert collector friend who attended the auction and he reported that the holster/stock/pouch combo was a fake.
    The Erma conversion kit was original but I couldn't tell if the kit was complete as the place where the ejector is situated in the wooden block was obscured in the photo. I've seen Erma kits for the shorter 4" Lugers sell for $1000-1200 so this one had real value, assuming it was complete. Was the lot worth the $3600 hammer price? Jerry's friend didn't think so. Betting the condition of the Luger was lacking, perhaps badly mismatched. There's no magazine in the photo, so perhaps it was outright missing and not removed for security (which I see many auction houses do to keep them from "walking away"). So hard to tell anything from a single photo.
     

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    LKGMADMAX

    Active Member
    Sep 9, 2017
    151
    Had a nice conversation on the phone yesterday with Jerry Burney. He wrapped up the re-stitching of my holster and it heads back to me today. Jerry was impressed with the overall condition and it was his opinion that the black dye was German applied. So I feel much better about it.

    And having earlier mentioned Imperial Navy Luger fakes, we were discussing a 1917 dated Navy Luger rig that went to auction near where I grew up in SW Penna. last Thursday. The auction house is one I've visited before and their focus is on sporting firearms. A stock, holster, mag pouch and Erma .22 conversion kit were part of the rig. Jerry had an expert collector friend who attended the auction and he reported that the holster/stock/pouch combo was a fake.

    The Erma conversion kit was original but I couldn't tell if the kit was complete as the place where the ejector is situated in the wooden block was obscured in the photo. I've seen Erma kits for the shorter 4" Lugers sell for $1000-1200 so this one had real value, assuming it was complete. Was the lot worth the $3600 hammer price? Jerry's friend didn't think so. Betting the condition of the Luger was lacking, perhaps badly mismatched. There's no magazine in the photo, so perhaps it was outright missing and not removed for security (which I see many auction houses do to keep them from "walking away"). So hard to tell anything from a single photo.
    Sweet!

    Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
     

    MackM

    Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 20, 2018
    86
    These are becoming amazing finds, at any reasonable price (and yours was VERY reasonable).
     

    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,337
    Catonsville
    -Jerry Burney sent back my repaired holster and it looks amazing. The list of work he performed is impressive: re-stitch the top, pull-in strap, bottom of left belt loop, make and install 2 new cleaning rod ears, re-stitch rod sleeve top. She obviously had a long life and the thread didn't fare well over the last 100 yrs, even if the leather did. Definitely saw duty on the Western Front.
    -And the cost of his services was extremely affordable. Ordered a proper Navy cleaning rod from Simpson and scrounged a nice Navy magazine. Probably have a total of $600 in the repair, mag and rod. Worth every penny to complete the rig. Jerry's work alone probably added $500 to the value. Plus I can sell the mag that came with it, pull back at least $150. Not sure what the holster is worth but I know I wouldn't let it go for anything less than $2k after seeing slightly nicer examples sell recently for between $2.5K - 3K.
     

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