Expert opinion needed: WWII bring back Luger P08, with documentation

[TexHill]

I recently loaned money to a friend who has an FFL. He knows that I collect WWII small arms, and has offered this Luger P08 as partial payment. It has both copies of the bring back certificate with it. The pistol is all numbers matching and marked 1915 DWM.

I don't know much about Lugers so any help with the hallmarks and a rough value is appreciated. Thank you!

https://imgur.com/a/amMROHm

[TexHill]

[Ron3]

I'm not a Luger expert.

I'm thinking it's a commercial model and probably didn't see "official" military or police service based on those markings. I could be wrong.

I'm going to guess it's worth $1300. I could be wrong or even very wrong.

As always, buy (in your case trade) the gun, not the story.

[Arik]

For stuff like this I go to gunboards. It's mostly Fudd in the modern firearm section but there is a vast amount of knowledge in milsurp firearms

[gaijin]

A working knowledge of all things Luger requires a Phd.
There a a bazillion variants.
The fact yours has matching serial numbers is encouraging.

I've had success gaining knowledge/insight here: http://www.lugerforum.com/

[RHINOWSO]

I'd second the motion to go to a Lugar specific gun board. The devil is really in the details when it comes to things like this.

Great looking Lugar with great history...

[sundance435]

I'm not a Luger expert.

I'm thinking it's a commercial model and probably didn't see "official" military or police service based on those markings. I could be wrong.

I'm going to guess it's worth $1300. I could be wrong or even very wrong.

It's an Imperial German-marked Luger. Many imperial and commercial Lugers were carried in WW2. Not every pistol (especially Lugers) carried by Nazis were swastika-waffenamt marked - they didn't even start appearing until mid-to-late 30's. The fact that it doesn't have swastika waffenamts means nothing in terms of whether it was carried in WW2. As others have said, properly valuing a Luger requires a lot of knowledge and Gunboards or Luger Forum is where I'd go. This one could easily be worth $1500, and potentially way more. Regardless, I'm certain it's not worth less than $1100-1200. Bringback guns with paper are commanding even higher premiums nowadays than they used to. The pics aren't great, but the gun doesn't look to be in particularly fantastic condition. However, bringback papers create their own value.

When posting there, you'll need pictures of the inside of the flap of the holster for an accurate value of it. It could, just going off of your pics, even be (period) original to the gun. It's in fantastic shape if it is original and could easily be worth $400+.

[26 Inf]

I'd second the motion to go to a Lugar specific gun board. The devil is really in the details when it comes to things like this.

Great looking Lugar with great history...

Just in case you get on here to check - the thread is closed, your PM box is full, and I just wanted to tell you that this was classic:

True, not everyone can quit the military, then spend the rest of their waking moments trying to get better at 'killing people', when not rage quitting, or complaining about money / guns / women / life.

I loved it. Kudos, you won the internet for today.

Sorry for the derail, exigent circumstances, etc.

[sgtrock82]

Definitely an imperial era (WWI) luger, made by DWM, Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken in Berlin. Interesting is the "S/42" under the barrel, this indicates it is a Mauser Oberndorf made replacement part 1934-1939ish. The "8,84" is the measured true bore diameter of this particular barrel. So not original as manufactured in 1915 but definitely a period "arsenal" replacement, part of the guns history and places it still in German possession, in some sort of service at the begining of WWII. The grips also bear the S/42 markings, having been replaced as well. Mauser Oberndorf was the largest producer of lugers and parts in the 3rd reich era.

Not having a "1920" stamped over the chamber indicates that this was not a gun that was officially on military books in the 20s and 30s, so it was likely used in a civil/police/govt capacity. Thats about the extent of what I can see in the pics but Im far from being a luger expert, Im just an interested observer. Unfortunately I havent had one myself in 13-14 years.

I would definitely get more pictures and seek advice at higher echelons of collecting.

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