1917 Erfurt Luger research

Drewryan1884 · Dec 15, 2023

Hi all! Trying to do some research on worth and origin on this Luger. My wife’s grandfather passed this to me since I am a combat vet as well. He was in the pacific theater during ww2 in the Army. I took the best pics I can. Not looking to sell, just curious. I just spent 2 hours cleaning a bunch of 70+ year old carbon and man this thing is running smooth as can be now!

Air gun Wood Trigger Gun barrel Gun accessory

Personal protective equipment Handgun holster Human leg Synthetic rubber Gun accessory

Gesture Finger Tints and shades Thumb Wood

Gun accessory Personal protective equipment Carbon Metal Fashion accessory

Everyday carry Material property Trigger Gun accessory Tints and shades

Finger Toy Revolver Metal Fashion accessory

Rim Bicycle part Carbon Composite material Nickel

Camera accessory Finger Gadget Guitar accessory Audio equipment

Pulsarnc · Dec 15, 2023

Not an expert but it is a good piece . Someone will be along that can tell you more. Appears to be matching numbers . Wild guess some where around 12 t0 1400 dollars. Lots of info on the web

Drewryan1884 · Dec 15, 2023

Thanks! It’s in great shape and after a hoppes bath it really looks good. The blueing still looks great.

gdmoody · Dec 15, 2023

I went and dug out my 9th edition (2020) of The Standard Catalog of Military Firearms and this is exactly what it says:

1914 Erfurt Military has a 4 inch barrel, 9mm chamber. It has a stock lug and the date of manufacture over the chamber, 1914-1918. The extractor and safety are both marked in German and the front link is marked "ERFURT" under a crown. The finish on this model is rough; and as the war progressed in 1917 and 1918, the finish got worse. There were many thousands produced with one- to five-digit serial numbers, some with letter suffixes.

Exc. $1500
V.G. $950
Good $700
Fair $400

sharps4590 · Dec 16, 2023

Supposedly Simpson's is the biggest Luger dealer in the US. Here's what a search for Erfurt Luger turned up. Lots of variables, evidently.

Search results (simpsonltd.com)

jim brady · Dec 16, 2023

Very nice original Luger. The holster should be worth some serious cash - too. Been a while since I researched, but often times the holster was serialized with the pistol. There should be a date of manufacture on it. Also, there should be a magazine loading tool in a pouch inside of the holster flap. Those are really handy in loading P08 magazines.

I found P08 Lugers can be picky for ammunition. Original ammo was loaded with 125 grain FMJ bullets. Let me know if you reload - I found data to duplicate ammunition to the original loads. Some (not all) of the modern/commercial 115 grain practice ammunition won't give optimum performance and may cause jams. Stay away from high pressure loads.

soundguy · Dec 16, 2023

I wonder if it has had a reblue.. Most erfurt's I see look like hammers. Nice either way. Congrats.

jim brady · Dec 16, 2023

I doubt if it is a re-blue. The safety and trigger both have the correct coloring for original.

Pulsarnc · Dec 16, 2023

The simpsons data was where I got the price range I stated.

Drewryan1884 · Dec 16, 2023

Thanks all! It’s 100% original blue. I am happy to have finally gotten this cleaned up and serviceable. I’m a huge collector so nice to have a piece with a family attachment.

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