German Luger Collectibles


The extractor is marked "GELADEN". The bore is good with distinctive lands and groove. The thumb safety is new style, and blued. The thumb safety is marked 'Gesichert' and safe is down. This is very nice battlefield bring back with a short sear, type II magazine and stock lug.

Even the underside of the gun did not escape the engravers fine tool. Observe the exacting detail of the oak leaves and acorn design with a design even on the grip screws.

Serial number placement is in the military ("exposed") style; displayed on the left side of the receiver, the side plate, the locking bolt, the sear bar safety, the extractor, the forward toggle link, the front of the frame, under the barrel, and on the side of the trigger. See Kenyon, *Lugers At Random*, Page 276

This Luger has been cared for over 78 years now. It is looking for a good home. It is very difficult to find an all matching serial numbered gun and a matching magazine. This is a premium 1938 for the serious collector who demands the best in collectable Lugers. This is a very clean gun with an excellent barrel and all matching magazine.

The serial number appears on the front of the frame, on the left side of the receiver, under the barrel and the last two digits on most small parts. The firing pin is original and serial numbered to the gun. All serial numbers match including the magazine The magazine is blue sleeved with aluminum pinned bottom and are proofed with the straight wing Eagle 63. Proof marks are well struck and clearly visible.

This is a splendid example of the 1938 Parabellum with a pre-war gun on the Mauser built frame, polished and salt blued. 1938 found Mauser in the late "a" suffix block and it proceeded to produce approximately 111,962 Parabellums.

Acceptance stamps began in the Imperial era with a crowned Gothic character and were personalized to an individual inspector. When Germany became a Republic in 1918 the State Eagle or Reichsadler replaced the Imperial Crown in acceptance stamps. At the end of production the guns were inspected before bluing and the serial numbers were applied and then testing occurred to achieve the final acceptance proof.


Here we can see the early Mauser Eagle 63 proofs with the Straight Wing and the early Waffenamt (Ordinance) drooped wing acceptance stamp. Sometimes there is an Eagle 83 proof but this assigned inspector is very rare.

The underside picture shows the engraving on the bottom of the side plate and on the trigger guard. These grips are very unusual as the appear to be made of the same composite material that the black 1941 (Black Widow) were made, however with a much stylized Nazi design. This whole ensemble was truly produced as a presentation to some high Nazi official based on the workmanship applied to this gun.


Above Left: The stick wing Eagle 63 clearly shows on the right side along with the Test Proof 2 stamp on the receiver and the barrel. This last proof was assigned after passing the pressure test of over-loaded rounds. Above Right: The left side exhibits the full four digits of the serial number and then the last two digits of the serial number on the side plate and locking lever.

The extractor displaying "GELADEN" (Loaded) protrudes from the breech to indicate to the shooter that the gun is loaded by visually and tactilely that the gun is loaded, even at night.

1938 saw the complete implementation of the reinforced Mauser frame the 2mm 'hump' on the rear of the frame to protect the rear main axel pin and another noticeable identification, the small machined dimple in the track of the stock lug. The hot salt treatment continued to produce some small parts in the 'plum' color caused by temperature of the bluing process. Barrels were 100mm and are predominantly marked with the barrel gauge between 8.81-8.83.



This is a standard 1934 Model gun designated by collectors as the 1938 "S/42" Mauser. This Luger has all matching numbers. The finish is very good and this model has a hold open latch and stock lug. The first toggle link is marked with the S/42 Mauser code. There is the "V" rear sight on the rear toggle link and the last two digits of the serial number appear. This is a basic excellent collector gun with all matching numbers.

The front and rear of P-08. The front of the frame displays the full serial number and the suffix "n". The rear toggle is marked with the last two digits of the serial number and the "V" rear sight. Also on the rear is the lanyard loop used by calvary or motor cycle troops.

Above Left: With the side plate removed you can see the trigger with the last two digits also on the locking lever. Above Right: You can see the Parabellum in full recoil. We can also see the rear of the frame with a 2mm extension at the rear indicating a Mauser made frame. The "thumb down" safety positions exposes the "Gesichert" (Safe) telling the shooter the gun is safe. You can also see the sear stop (serial numbered "43") in the up position. In 1932 the Reichswehrministerium issued an order that the rear connecting pin be serial numbered to the gun.

Included within this magnificent engraved presentation is the unique oiler which in the bottom portion one places the oil, which is then wicked up through the cotton to the top where it can be applied as an applicator. We have seen a lot of oilers over the past 50 years but this is the first time we've come across this type.

One of the changes in 1938 was the transition from one type of S/42 to another; more a search of collectors but worth noting. A new die was created in early 1938 and the evidence is most easily seen in the "4" of the S/42. The early 1938 "4" had the more open top as opposed to the latter that was more closed at the top. A very minor difference but like a mis-struck coin it is a distinction and duly noted by collectors between the "b" and "c" block.

1938 marked a high point in Nazi power. In March 1938 the Anschluss occurs (above Hitler's announcement) & Germany annexes Austria; in September Adolph Hitler and Neville Chamberlain meet to discuss the Sudetenland; in October von Ribbentrop tells Josef Lipsky, the Polish Amb. to Germany that the free City of Danzig must return to Germany and that the Germans must be given extraterritorial rights in the Polish corridor. All without firing a shot! (Below) Austrians welcoming the German military.


The most distinctive feature of these pistols is undoubtedly the toggle-lock mechanism, which holds the breech closed by locking in a manner not unlike the human knee, which can sustain a heavy weight when straight, but once bent is quite easy to continue to bend. The toggle joint in its straight position resists the rearward force of the detonating cartridge, then "buckles" after enough time has passed. When a round is fired the entire breech, barrel and toggle move straight rearward (on rails) until the toggle begins to ride up on a pair of cams that "breaks" the toggle (makes it bend at the joint). Once the toggle joint is no longer straight, it bends freely, allowing the bolt to come rearward, and the striker to be cocked. The spent cartridge is extracted by a combination extractor/loaded chamber indicator on the top of the toggle, is ejected as the toggle nears the end of its rearward Free Travel Info, and a new round is stripped from the magazine and chambered as the toggle is driven back to the straight position by a spring.

Impressive is the best description for this beautiful World War II trophy. Somewhere an American soldier came into possession of this beautiful presentation gun and it became a family heritage for many years, now you can enjoy this well-crafted gun.


This is a very unique cleaning rod that in part resembles the Portuguese version used by Mauser. However, this cleaning rod is all brass with a swivel head that also serves as a repository for grease making it a multipurpose tool. At "A" we have the swivel mounted head and "B" is a screw on extension for the cleaning patches while at "C" we have the cap to the grease barrel on the rod itself with the applicator tip inside.

The Loading tool above has the Eagle 63 which is the Mauser proof from 1938	Also included is a box of originally dated 1944 ammunition for the 9 mm Parabellum

The 1938 Mauser represents the completion of the factory switch from the rust blued to the salt blued finish. On the toggle train the breech block has the last two digits from the serial number and the Trial Proof 2 while the 1st toggle has the last two digits of the serial number on top. The rear toggle link has the serial number on the rear.