COLLECTOR’S CORNER

About three million Lugers were made, and a surprisingly high survival rate has created lasting interest. However, it’s a business that attracts fakers so accurate cataloguing is essential!

Currently, Arundel Militaria (www. deactivated-guns.co.uk) is selling a deactivated 1912-dated Erfurt P. 08 with regimental markings for £1,495, but prices for live-fire Lugers depend greatly on scarcity. For example, Morphy Auctions sold a P.08 made by DWM in 1918 for $1,000 in December 2020, but a Simson & Co ‘S Code’ P. 08 went for £5,228 in May 2020, and a Krieghoff

P. 08 dated ‘1937’, largely because of Luftwaffe links, fetched $12,300 in 2018. The cased Krieghoff presentation gun No. 17232 reached $75,000 in 2012. DWM Prototype 10030B sold in 2013 for $50,909, and Baby Luger No. 4 for $60,000 in 2014.