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1918 German Luger 30cal

rug454
I have a WW1 luger 70 percent blue left, all matching #,
on top of the slide there is a crown and a word, ( ERFURT )
DATE STAMPED 1918. The bore has some pitting but fare shape, have shot it and works very well. No rust anywhere.. I keep seeing commercial Lugers on Gun Broker for sale, could this be one...
Could some of you guys tell me if it might be special or just a plain
old fashon Luger.... ser# 4248
Thanks

I rechecked ALL numbers they match, execpt mag. And on the bottom of the barrel the #'s match. On the other side of the ser# there are 4 markings one of them is an eagle or some kind of bird, then there looks like the letter P with a crown over it, and the letter M with a crown over it, and the last one looks like an (I)with a crown over it, but it has (rc) stamped over that. At the base of the barrel on the left side there is a very small (rc)with a crown over it. The overall
shape is 90 percent. Nice piece..

The history on this Luger, My friend is 73 he got it from his dad that was in WW1, he brought it back with him after the war. My friend told me his dad got it during the war and used it against the germans.
True or not, it is a very nice handgun....

This is a 30cal not a 9mm..
I have found that this Luger is orig factory, not a comm..
Trying to find the books, if one is known for sale please drop me a line..
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Comments

6 comments

Date Votes
  • drsck
    Generally, if there is a date stamped on the chamber, it is a military issue weapon. If it an Erfurt luger, it was a military contract luger. There are collectors who prefer the military issue lugers and others who prefer the commercial models. Erfurt lugers are generally a little less sought after than the DWM models because they tend to be of less quality. The early Erfurt examples, however, are relatively rare and sometimes command a premium. By 1918, the amount of finish work had been greatly reduced and they are fairly common. There are a few more things that might make yours stand apart from the rest. Does it have unit markings on the frontstrap? Are there any other markings that might set it apart? Is there an original issue holster? Does the serial number of the magazine match the serial number of the gun (highly unlikely for a late war Erfurt). If the answers to these questions is "no," you have a pretty common luger. However, it is still a luger and lots of folks would love to add it to their collections, so be sure you want to part with it and make certain you get a good price. Best of luck -- Steve
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  • perry shooter
    Hello Your luger was made at a german military armory sort of like SPRINGFIELD is to the USA it was made in 1918 near the end of WW 1 The price of lugers can vary so much that only a hands on could give you a value. All the small parts should have the last 2 digits of the serial the complete serial should be on the barrel and frame . If you have an all matching serial large and small parts and the finish is orginal "NOT REBLUED" it would be worth 4 times of what a mismatched reblued luger would be worth.
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  • rufe-snow
    Check to see if there is a serial number on the underside of the barrel. If there is, see if it matches the serial number on the frame.

    After the Germans lost the First World War, they weren't supposed to produce 9mm handguns.

    Many military Lugers were rebarreled to 30 caliber for sale commercially. Lots were exported for sale during the 1920's, to the U.S. Lot of these were marked "Germany", to comply with U.S. laws requiring country of origin on imported products.
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  • p3skyking
    If it's 7.65 Parabellum, then at some point in it's life, someone decided to take a military issue 9mm and rebarrel it. It is now considered a commercial variation.

    Usually the offending military markings were erased, however, in your case they weren't. There are several possible reasons, but that is beyond the scope of your question.

    You have a parts gun with value as a shooter or as parts. As all you need to reconvert it to 9mm is a barrel, that might be your best recourse if you want to do a lot of shooting cheap.


    wings2.gif
    Stolen from, and with thanks, to Kiwibird
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  • p3skyking
    With the new information that you added:

    At the base of the barrel on the left side there is a very small (rc)with a crown over it.

    You need to recheck the caliber. The Crown RC is an Imperial Reichs Commission stamp that was applied to weapons that the inspectors failed. This was to let them off the hook should a weapon fail in service use. I have never heard of this on ANY 7.65 barrel. If your weapon is in fact 9mm, you have an original pistol.

    wings2.gif
    Stolen from, and with thanks, to Kiwibird
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  • rufe-snow
    quote:Originally posted by rug454

    This is a 30cal not a 9mm..


    A 1918 Erfurt, ( Last year of production/Last year of World War I ).
    With a matching 30 Caliber Barrel doesn't make a heck of a lot of sense? Always a possibility the original 9mm barrel was bad and it was relined after the war with a 30 caliber tube? Not sure what to tell you? It was definitely, originally produced as a military Luger for the German Army. It doesn't seem to be one of the post W W I reworks, known as 1920 Commercials. The "Crown M" proof mark also has me puzzled? I always though that was a Naval Proof.

    Best thing to do, would be post quality pictures of the Luger over on the www.lugerforum.com many of the guys over their are old time Luger pros, and collectors of longstanding. Maybe they will be able to explain the anomalies surrounding the Luger.

    luger_4.jpg
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