This evening at auction, a Luger went for $430,000 plus the kicker. That though, is less than half what a Colt Walker went for about a year ago. Kind of puts shotguns into a different perspective.

for which we should be grateful, Daryl!

hand guns are HOT right now.

I'm going to run down to the black gun store this morning and see what they have in a handgun. Am I too late to benefit from the appreciation Daryl illustrates?

If you're referring to the 45cal military trials Luger, and considering this from a historical perspective, I don't find the price out of line at all. It's the equivilent to a Parker Invincible for military pistol collectors and historians. I suspect they would find the prices we shell out for certain doubles to be bizarre as well.
Jim

Lugers and Walthers have always been great investments,if you want to "dip your toe" in those waters I would suggest two Books,the first, Jan Stills Third Reich Lugers;
http://www.amazon.com/Third-Reich-Lugers-Jan-Still/dp/189351305X



Also another by Jan, Imperial Lugers;

http://www.amazon.com/Imperial-Lugers-Jan-C-Still/dp/1893513106


Both are out of print and hard to find but well worth the price,another older one that is helpfull is Lugers at Random -Charles Kenyon,it does pop up on ebay and amazon at times.

Be careful,lots of boosted ones out there,much more fakery then the double gun arena.

The difference is when you refered to the the Parker you said "a" meaning that there are more than 1.
Whereas on the Luger 45 it is refered to as "the", meaning it is the only one left as only 2 where ever made.

Maybe not. According to an article in today's L.A. Times, that same gun had previously sold for $1mil, and had changed hands a couple of times between the $1mil sale and yesterday's sale. So, someone lost almost $600K plus the vig on that great investment.

Also according to the Times article, there were three of those guns built in .45, but only two are known to survive. The other is in a museum. Buyer's name on this transaction was not disclosed, but he is reported to be "ecstatic." Hell, I'd be ecstatic too if I could drop $430K cash plus vig on a single gun.

Which one did Gordon Gecko own?

Perhaps not "that gun",someone obviously paid to much at one million and is now under water.In general collecting Lugers and war time Walthers have indeed been excellent investments and may well have outpaced the double guns we collect.

My fathers old navy buddy told me when I was a little kid,8 or 9, that his collection of Lugers would be worth a lot of money someday. He had 30 or so then and had over 75 last I heard. He bought a lot of them from some gun store in Brooklyn right after the war.He had a ton of accessories which did not impress me much. He is still active at 93 and still has his collection.

Pssst. Anybody interested in a double barreled Luger? One of a kind. "Der Bo Voop" inlaid in gold on top rib. Rumored to have been owned by a former German Dictator. Initials "A. H." in stock oval on detachable buttstock. This gun was lost since 1944 when it fell off of the trunk of a staff car after being left there during a license check while on an axis deer hunt... recently resurfaced.

Not exactly what I meant since there are 3 Invincibles all on display the last I knew at the NRA museum and they will never be up for sale. This 45acp Luger that sold is purportedly 1 of 2 remaining with the other in a museum collection. Hope this clears things up.
Jim

The 45 Luger that survives today is serial #2. Serial #1 is gone reportedly it was so badly damaged during the Army tests that it was just thrown out. No one really knows for sure.