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DWM Model 1906 First Issue Navy Luger Unaltered

3K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  usafdds 
#1 ·
Hey everyone! So I traded for my first Luger today. It's a Dwm Model 1906 First Issue Unaltered navy Luger. It was purchased a number of years ago from the Ralph Shattuck collection through Rock Isald Auctions. All of the serial numbers are matching except the magazine which says Cal. 9mm. It has about 98% of the blueing and some of straw colored parts are a bit worn. The barrel has no rust or corrosion and is mirrored finished. From what I understand this is a pretty rare model. I am excited to find out more about it. Also need to get it appraised soon for insurance purposes. Here are some images (they don't do it justice)
 

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#2 ·
Mike,

I think you will receive some bad news from our Navy folks.

There should be Crown/M(arine) acceptance stamps on the left side receiver flat...just head of the trigger side plate. See example photo, below of the typical C/M's.

Finish looks like a full restoration as well. Nice quality work, though. But that usually drops value by 50% or so.
.
.
 
#3 ·
Welcome to the board.

It is not a military Navy, but possibly a commercial navy.
The navy luger experts will be along to comment and ask for more pictures.
You could start with a picture of the front of the frame showing the serial number.
 
#4 ·
Looks like it just came out of the Factory after 100 years plus:rolleyes:
I have one just like it and I think it originally also was part of Shattuck's collection, it came from a dealer to me but don't quote me on that.
Happy Hunting!
Peter
 
#5 ·
It's a beautiful gun but it is already known in the collector's community to be restored/refinished. Apparently in the process of restoration most of the proof and acceptance marks were scrubbed. Altho the gun may be all matching, its restoration has reduced its value considerably and that makes them very difficult to price.
Tim H.
 
#6 ·
Hi Mike,
Welcome to the forum! As you have heard, 1906 Navy #4753 is a known gun. It was sold by Rock Island Auctions in April 2015 for $4,312.50 including commission, and was described in the catalog as "professionally restored". It's possible though that this gun is not an original Navy but was assembled from parts as it's missing the proof and inspection marks on the barrel, receiver and breech-block.
Regards, Norm
 
#7 ·
Mike... (now that I know your name without looking for it) do you mind telling us what you traded for this gun from your FRIEND? Also I see this Thread is partially twice on the forum.
Happy Hunting!
Peter
 
#12 ·
Mike... if your CZ is a nice honest gun get it back from your friend, unfortunately my experience was with a dealer he would have taken it back on consignment charge me some fee and sell it to an other fool like me. I did decline and the minty Commercial navy still is in my black hole and it will stay their it serves as a reminder to me. Her is the original post on this http://luger.gunboards.com/showthread.php?43109-Commercial-Navy-32736&highlight=32736
Happy Hunting!
Peter
 
#9 ·
Luger collectors value pistols that are as close to original factory state as possible.

In this case, there is zero percent original finish, and (while a very good looking restoration) unfortunately it would not be valued the same as a collectible pistol.

Typically, a shooter would be valued at 60% or less of the value of a collectible Luger. These discrepancies become more prominent when dealing with more rare and more highly priced variations of Lugers.

Navy Lugers have been regularly faked by starting with similar models, replacing parts as needed and then adding markings. There can unfortunately be quite a bit of money in this for the person doing the manipulation.

Unfortunately, I don't put much store in provenance related to Ralph. I once purchased a 1939 Mauser Luger he had sold someone as a "Black Widow". It had been boosted with bakelite grips, one of which had been painted black. That grip actually turned out to be a rare brown Ritzmann grip originally used on a Krieghoff Luger. In any case, it was never shipped from the factory as Ralph sold it, and it was definitely not in it's original collectible state...
 
#10 ·
From the OP's closed thread:
"I guess there might be some discrepancies with the Luger. I got it from a friend so I can always return it if the value has been hurt too much."

There are definitely some discrepancies in this luger; but only you can decide if you want to keep it- if you want an original Navy luger- this is not it; if you want a pretty luger that looks like a Navy- that is what you have.

As others have said, value is hard to pin down- but as been said, it sold for $4,300 to someone.
 
#11 ·
Mike,

The Navy folks here are pretty savy and can help out a lot if you post up more and detailed photos.

What one needs to uncover is if the gun was a real Navy at some point in time or if it was a standard grip-safety Luger that got "Navy" items added such as rear sight and 6" barrel (with new markings on it).

If it turns out the later; you are probably looking at a neat $ 1500 shooter Luger...or maybe a bit less. And you would be on the wrong-end of the trade with your friend.

If the gun was truly an original Navy pistol and lost many of its Navy acceptance stamps during the restoration process...maybe you might be even-up with your trade buddy at $ 3K.

But selling it in the future to a Navy collector would be difficult. It is not a Commercial Navy gun as it has the wrong SN range.

Or it is a military pistol void of most of its history with the "missing" acceptance/proof stampings. And that
would turn off Navy collectors who might over-look the fact it was refinished but would reject it for the loss of those stampings.

Just cannot envision a refinisher thinking it was best to make those stampings disappear.

So maybe the gun is a "fantasy" piece cranked out by the Luger Mafia to loosen up some guy's wallet full of money who many not have known better.

Such old crooks fed (and continue to feed) on those customers. 1 old guy dies...2 new guys pop up to take the vacancy.
 
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