World War One Luger

I have a luger passed on to me by my Grandfather, who served in World War One. He told me he got the pistol off the body of a dead German Officer.


The Luger has 1918 on the breech with DWM at the base of the barrel, which is 4 inches long. There also appears to be Imperial German Eagles stamped on different parts of the pistol. It has, for want of a better term, lugs at the base of the handle to which fits a butt extension. The holster was made for a longer barrel, but has a wood backing in the shape of a rifle butt. The holster looks similar to the photo at the upper left of this screen.


I have no idea of the value if any. If anyone knows anything I can provide photos.

[BILL]

Without seeing it, it sounds like a fairly standard military issued Luger during WWI. The date would be the year of manufacture, the last year of the war. The holster you describe would have been issued with a longer barrel model, referred to as an artillery model. It is possible that your grandfather picked these up from the same person but they are not really matched to each other. It is conceivable that during the last months of the war people were using whatever they could get their hands on. I think that you will find some pictures similar to your pistol in the Owners' Corner of this forum. You don't say if it is stamped DWM on the top of the toggle or Erfurt. Check out our photos here and see if you see it. Value, of course, depends on condition and more detail of the pistol and holster. It is always nice to have a Luger that has a known history.

[John Sabato]

Russ,


Very sorry about your Grandfather, but you are indeed very fortunate that these items survived long term storage and that you are the recipient of these treasures.


Sounds like you have a standard DWM P-08 and an Artillery Holster/stock. They don't belong together as Bill indicated and in fact, if you attach the flat board stock to the 4" Luger you have committed a felony. The use of this stock with anything other than a genuine Artillery Luger is prohibited by the National Firearms Act of 1934, so keep them separate. If you need more information about the legality of the use of the stock, check with the ATF website and search for the C&R (Curio and Relic) list. The stock and holster combination is a valuable antique item and depending upon condition can be worth as much or more than some Luger pistols.


One such item recently sold on Ebay for $590.00 and it had been repaired with modern leathers and the stock was a reproduction. Yours being original, if in good condition could easily be worth that and more... Could you post some good closeups (or email them to me?) of the holster/stock combination? That would help in judging the values.