1938 S/42 Luger

Could someone advise me on the proper external proofs/waffenampts(ie E/135,etc) one would expect to find on a 1938 vintage S/42 luger. Also, which if any, markings would be applied after the blueing process--thanks in advance for your assistance.

According to Jan Still--Third Reich Lugers: right front receiver would have two Eagle over 63 or one Eagle 63 and one Eagle 83 followed by a stick shape eagle with downward slop wings this is army test proof and also appears on right side of bl. just forward of the receiver. Still estimates serial range 400b-4500n. Total production 113,800. My 1938 has 2 Eagle 63. The Eagle has a straight horizonal wing. 1937 and earlier Eagle 63 are droop wing variation. Original 1938 clip bottoms also have the Eagle and 63 proof. Harry Jones in Luger Variations says " It must me remembered that Lugers were assembled and tested[proofed before they were serialized;The Luger was dissembled before serializing and bluing. Page 46

Art,

Thanks for your response. It appears that the drooped wing eagle on my 1938's barrel is there but very faint. I also have a very small eagle/waffen# on the left side of the barrel just in front of the receiver. Also serial# under the barrel at the receiver with a small "R. 93" under the serial#. The gun is in 98% original condition. If I decide to sell, what value or range in price would you place on this all matching- - except magazine which is correct to this vintage?

[Lonnie Zimmerman]

That R-93 under the barrel doesn"t sound to good if the numbers all match.


Lonnie

[Lonnie Zimmerman]

A thought. Could your R.93 be 8.83? That would be GOOD!


Lonnie

[JuergenG]

Lonnie's thought is in the right direction.

Check this mark again, must be the diameter.

Juergen

Lonnie/Juergen,

The numbers under the barrel do appear to be "8.83", just not real crisp, and again this is under the serial#. I've recently come into possession of this pistol and am not familiar with Lugers. Under closer examination I've noticed that the toggle (rear) hinge-pin has a two digit numeric code on its' left side(viewable when the bolt is pulled all the way back),and it does not match the last two numbers of the serial#--Does this mean that the toggle assembly is not fully matching? The only other viewable two digit codes that I see(on toggle) are on the two main hinge arms of the toggle assembly. Also, should the extractor have a code on it viewable from the top of the bolt on a 1938 vintage S/42? Thanks for your assistance, FTroop.

[Lonnie Zimmerman]

FTroop; the extractor should have a number on it that matches the last two digits of the frame number. Same with the toggle pin; although a lot of them are unumbered.


Lonnie

Ftroop---I suspect that being new to Lugers you still have some unanswered questions. The 8.83 is the rifling land dia. measurement in mm. These vary sometimes from 8.81 to 8.85. There are 3 so called pins in the toggle assembly. I assume that you are refering to the big pin at the rear of the receiver which connects the toggle assembly to the receiver. Most of us tend to refer to it as a pin. It is more properly known as the receiver axle. This is the only pin that is numbered and then generaly only on post ww1 Lugers. Your 1938 would have had the last two digits of the serial # on this pin[receiver axle] Having an unnumbered pin is preferable to having the wrong # of course. You have one chance in many 100s of finding a matching 3 axle. This number would have been used once for every 100 Lugers manufactured from perhaps 1934 through 1942. # style did vary somewhat during that period. Now for the small letter after the serial #. Military Lugers generally from day one did not have a serial number beyond 9999. Once that # was reached the numbering started again with 1 with an alphabet script letter placed below the serial 3#. Thus 1a through 9999a then 1b through 9999b until the alphabet was used up---then start all over again. The letter j was never used. The serial range used in in 1938 [according to Jan Still] was about 400b through 4500n. No one seems to want to speculate on value for you. I will try based on advertised prices and some experience in the area. First---condition---you feel that it is 98%. I think you will find that % will vary depending if you are buying or selling. Also from collector to collector. I prefer to ask where is the wear. If the side plate hump and other sharp edges have just a hint of blue gone then maybe 98%. I usually find the hump wear to kind of indicate wear on remainder. One would expect to find near perfect grips on 98%. If the Hump has quite a bit of wear and maybe some visable thinning of blue on the grip straps--then maybe 90%. You can almost bet that the buyer--especially a dealer will see more wear than you do[whether it is there or not] What you could get for it again depends on if you are selling to an individual or to a trader/dealer who will want to give you 30% less than they think they can get for it. Without seeing the Luger---$750 to $1200 A good way to test the market fairly cheap is to put ad in the Gun list at price you want. No calls and you can figure price too high. If you realy want to sell it---look ads for similar Lugers then price yours somewhat less. This is kind of long, but you ask a serious[refreshing] question and you deserve a good answer. What is condition of grips? Does clip match or at least have same proof and maybe same small letter below serial? Enjoy your Luger I am sure it is very nice.

PS--please excuse--after reading my post third time --I notice that I did not shift to use the # and it is shown as 3. Once shown thus 3#. Sorry!

Art,

Thanks for your time and serious reply, I've learned alot in a the past few days about lugers and this forum certainly contributed the most- -thanks again. I understand the subjective nature of grading on a 100pt scale. Personally, if I grade a gun 99% to "mint" I will not shoot it at all. I may occasionally pop a few caps through a lesser gun though. The luger in question is one that I would not feel bad about test firing, but is certainly very nice with only a hint of blue wear only in a few high edge areas--all edges remain sharp. In certain light the front gripstrap shows just a hint of browning. The grips are medium dark brown, sharp and minty feeling with no cracks- -screws are perfect. The clip is not matching to the gun and shows minor use- -still about 95% blueing remains. The aluminum end plug is excellent, has waffenampt but the letter suffix does not match the pistol nor does sn#. Everything is tight/precise/quality--fit and finish about this luger. The bolt shows a primer mark, the feeding ramp is not worn, barrel is bright & minty(no frosting,etc). I think this gun might have been carried a little, and shot some, just not much. Too bad the rear toggle axle is not matching though?, everything else does match with the exception of the clip which was stated above. I appreciate everyones' assistance, FTroop.

[Lonnie Zimmerman]

Ftroop; an unmarked rear toggle axle would be proper for this gun and would increase the value over what you have now by a bunch!!


Lonnie