Long auction week results

[mawkie]

This time of year is usually the most active on the live gun auction circuit. Lots of goodies came to the block this year and I bid on quite a few. Managed to remove three items from my bucket list recently...
1.) FN 1900 pistol - No photo yet, inbound from a southern VA auction. Also put a strong bid in on a sweet Astra M900 "broomhandle" but came up short on that one. Something else to keep hunting for.
2.) Mauser M1914 - Found a rare, Early Production Model 1914 that went cheap. One of about 10,500 early two line address examples sandwiched between the rare Humpback and the standard version. Looks like no one else noticed what it was as bidding stopped well short of where I thought it would, around the price of a common 1914. Strong finish and intact fire blue on the trigger and extractor. Holster looks strangely like a Japanese model but will have to wait for examination to be sure just what it is.
3.) American Eagle Luger, Model 1906 - Went to Redding today with three FN pistols on my short list. All went for just beyond what I wanted to spend so I passed or dropped out of bidding. Ditto for a couple of long arms that all sold for well beyond what I considered current market price. The last item I was interested in was this AE Luger. Condition was very good and external numbers all matched. So I opened bidding at $1k and got it for $550 more, a very good price.
The Model 1906 was the most common of the AEs, est. production around 7500 to 8500 in all. SN on this one puts it at the very end of production in 1913. Chambered in .30 Luger it has a 4 3/4" barrel and an excellent bore. Correct "Loaded" marked extractor. Disassembly confirmed that it's fully matching. Weak straw finish still intact. Very pleased with this one.
4.) Vintage Winchester .38 and .380 acp ammo - Too cool to not take home with me from today's Redding auction.

Will post additional photos later.

 

[espantoonMP]

Very cool. Those old ammo boxes are a work of art.

 

[somd_mustangs]

The AE sounds like a steal to me! Nice looking pistol.
The M900 is really hard to find in decent condition, pretty much resigned to either not finding one or paying $2k for it.
Vintage ammo boxes (and the ammo) are very collectible too, those Winchester boxes may have a date code on them somewhere.
duh, the .380 lower right, 7-15 (July 1915). The .38 ACP is probably a little earlier.

 

[toolness1]

I want a Luger but I'm too cheap to buy even a mixmatch shooter.

I like that 1914, those are cool looking pistols.

 

[MilsurpDan]

Awesome buys Mawkie! I can't wait to see pictures of the FN.

This might sound like a stupid question, but are the American Eagle Luger's the pistols that the U.S. bought to use in military trials, or just marked so for commercial marketing?

 

[Machodoc]

Awww ... you suck!!
That American eagle is gorgeous!

 

[mawkie]

Awesome buys Mawkie! I can't wait to see pictures of the FN.

This might sound like a stupid question, but are the American Eagle Luger's the pistols that the U.S. bought to use in military trials, or just marked so for commercial marketing?

Both. Spotting a US Trials Luger is tricky in that there were 1000 delivered but many destroyed in testing (best est. is around 230). Approx. 770 were then sold to Bannerman's who in turn sold them retail. I know for sure that these pistols don't have the "GERMANY" text stamped like the commercial examples.
Will have to crack open my Lugers at Random reference when I get home tonight to get additional info. Will also post additional photos of the AE.

 

[mawkie]

Awww ... you suck!!
That American eagle is gorgeous!

Every collection should have one Luger, if only a mix master to shoot. My first P08 is a total Lugerstein, not more than one or two matching parts. WWI lower, WW2 upper. But it's such a joy to shoot. And the .30 Luger chambered pistols are even sweeter than 9mm. Far less finicky about feeding with that bottlenecked cartridge. That's why I've gravitated more towards the Swiss and US commercial examples. Will have to start putting pennies in the bank for a nice Model 1900, the ultimate Luger IMHO.

 

[lee2]

you have a nice eye for collectables. congrats on your new purchases.

 

[KH195]

Great pickups as always Mawkie! Love that American Eagle!!

 

[engineerbrian]

What a great pick up! I've never heard of an AE Luver until just now

That ammo is really cool too. Love old ammo boxes!

 

[mawkie]

Great pickups as always Mawkie! Love that American Eagle!!

Got out bid earlier in the day on a nice Turkish issue FN 1922, one of the reasons I still had enough coin to go after the AE. At the time I was wondering if you were in the room 'cause I just knew we would go after the same goodies. In the end I didn't push the bid on the FN because while it was a cool and rare item it didn't make my heart race like the AE.

 

[mawkie]

Some additional photos of the American Eagle 1906...

 

[KH195]

Got out bid earlier in the day on a nice Turkish issue FN 1922, one of the reasons I still had enough coin to go after the AE. At the time I was wondering if you were in the room 'cause I just knew we would go after the same goodies. In the end I didn't push the bid on the FN because while it was a cool and rare item it didn't make my heart race like the AE.

Wish I could have been, there were several items there that caught my eye..unfortunately already had some obligations elsewhere for the weekend. I had an absentee bid in on an item in the 'smalls' category (the Japanese flag w/ 70+ vet signatures), but haven't received a call so I guess it went to someone else.

 

[mawkie]

Wish I could have been, there were several items there that caught my eye..unfortunately already had some obligations elsewhere for the weekend. I had an absentee bid in on an item in the 'smalls' category (the Japanese flag w/ 70+ vet signatures), but haven't received a call so I guess it went to someone else.

-Flags went to the block in the main ring while I was over on the second ring with the "bargain basement" guns so I didn't get to see what they were bringing. A very clean Japanese mortar round went for around $375.
-There was a nice FN 1910 with post war German police marks and a Dutch capture FN 1922 but that one had a mismatched barrel which very likely could have been a German replacement. The 1910 sold for around $425 and the 1922 for $550 (I'm working off of memory, have notes at home). Both around what I considered market value. Passed on the 1922 as for around $100 more a matching example could be had and I'd rather go that route.
-The Turkish 1922 was nice with one noticeable blem: a scratch on the slide where someone ham handed removal of the extractor. Had a holster with spare, non-marked mag. Don't have a clue of the holster was Turkish issue, so little info on that accessory is available. I dropped out of bidding at $800 and that's what it sold for. A decent buy as these generally go for $750-850 without a holster.
-The upcoming Amoskeag auction is filled with jaw dropping stuff. The advanced Mosin Nagant collectors are going to go ga-ga over some lots. Ditto for guys like me who love French arms. A pile of German capture Lebels, Berthiers, etc. Should go for obscene amounts as I've NEVER seen examples of many of these in the US in 30 years of collecting. Just hope that they're not faked. Just seeing so many stamps coming out of Poland these days. Check this crap out on Evil Pay...

 

[mawkie]

The FN 1900 showed up today. Condition is good with some minor pitting and edge wear. Original FN marked mag. Wooden grips are in VG condition. SN places production in the 1909-1910 year range. A good place holder until a better example strikes my fancy.