Jan C. Still Lugerforums banner

1906 American Eagle 9MM

4K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  Rogerbutthead 
#1 · (Edited)
This is the second of four lugers I have been offered in trade. It is as titled - serial number 38097 - has a 9mm marked magazine - it is valued at $4500.

Is this a fair valuation? All four lugers are from the Mike Forte collection - who was a restorer on the East Coast. I have no idea if it was restored but it looks pretty new to me.

http://s1015.photobucket.com/albums.../1906 American Eagle 9MM/?albumview=slideshow

Sorry about the poor camera work, but I sux.
 
#2 ·
Looks very nice. If restored, no its not worth it.

if original, its in the ball park. However, if you can't tell the difference if original or restored; then I would be hesitant to make a 15-20k deal...


ed
 
#3 ·
I looked at your albums. Without having guns in hand, my impression is that all four are restored, but I could be totally wrong. Mike was a master restorer. It is sad that he was struck down at a relatively early age. He really knew Lugers.
 
#4 ·
Mike Forte was a master craftsman and said to be a restorer for some of the biggest Luger retailers in the land. Keep that in mind and turn it over in your head as you drift into sleep tonight.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I looked at Mike's work several times at Louisville and the metal work was excellent but the Blue always seemed off color to me. I can't say about the guns you're asking about because the photos are not good enough.
I'd be surprised if they are not refinished. All of his guns that I looked at always looked the same. If he had an original that was not refinished it always stood out to me because of the color.
As far as value, that's a personal decision for you. I don't have any idea but probably 50% of what the dealer is asking.
Tom
Just looked at the other guns you posted. I believe halos are normal on the bug proofs and would show refinishing. I see Ed said half also.
 
#7 ·
A friend of mine has an '06 9mm American Eagle for sale. It's an excellent original finish gun but has a mismatched commercial side plate. He is asking $3000.

My experiance has been that when a pistol has been "professionally" restored be very careful. Refinishing can hide or change many other faults such as renumbered non original parts.
 
#10 ·
Rogerbutthead,

Save your money and be patient and buy factory-original Lugers in the best condition you can find.

Refinished guns will always just be that...a refinished gun...and your selling-audience in the future will be a limited smaller group of collectors.

Your seller/dealer at least is being honest about what he is offering...but maybe his prices are just not "right"...as the guns are still re-finished pieces.
 
#12 ·
First off, I have been known to really mess up when evaluating high end guns, so take everything I talk about with a grain of salt, in other words it may not be correct.

The question is: is this gun original?

Take a look at the edges of the side plate, especially the top left corner
Look at the safety area and the wear in from the safety lever
I also noticed that the area above the sear bar is beveled, this may be OK, but its worth noting on a review and maybe someone will comment on this interesting feature.

Honestly the gun is a beauty, there is no way around it. Is it original? You really need a three day inspection period and an on hands inspection to tell for sure.

one last thing: Pete, knows Swiss guns pretty well and if he says be careful, it is likely good advice.

Good Luck!
Vern
 

Attachments

#13 ·
Perhaps I should rephrase my question.

As I am told by this dealer unless some Swiss soldier or policeman just left his pistol in a drawer, all Swiss lugers were redone one or more times over their career in the Swiss military.

Thus the Swiss lugers that came over here were all in great shape - is this an accurate statement? - and from the silence I am getting, I guess that it is not a fair statement.
 
#14 ·
The Swiss routinely refurbished their Lugers. Not all were refurbished and not all Swiss that made it to the U.S. were/are in great shape. As a group, however, Swiss Lugers will generally be in better condition than other contemporary Lugers. The Dutch routinely refurbished their Lugers also, but most that you find are in fairly rough condition. The jungles of Indonesia are a bit more harsh environment than the Alps of Switzerland.
 
#15 ·
Mike Forte did excellent (and scary...) re-finish work...

Many of his guns are sold by some BIG named sellers as original, unfortunately.

One time at the NAPCA event in TN about 4 years ago, he tempted me with his Swiss wares out of the back of his trunk...there were nearly 10-12 Swiss guns, alone. All were 125% mint...

I asked Mike to bring the several of the Swiss guns into the exhibit hall so I could have a better look with inspection tools, etc. before considering a buy...

He did not want to do that.
 
#16 ·
I made a deal a bit above the 2/3rds price mark. I understand that the dealer needs to make a profit and I have never seen lugers like these before. Plus, the dealer said he would always take them back. I don't normally deal with lugers and I won't certainly ever shoot them, so they will go into my safe - except for the occasional cleaning.

Thank you for your help. I'll go back to collecting G/K43's.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top