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| Upcoming auction will determine rare Luger’s worth |
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Can a handgun that’s not an antique, in near-new condition and not linked to a prominent person be worth $1 million? Gun collectors have speculated for more 20 years that a certain German luger is worth at least that much. The Blue Book of Gun Values calls it “The most desirable semi-auto pistol ever manufactured.”
Hollywood perpetuated the gun’s mythical status in the 1987 film, Wall Street. Part of Gordon Gekko’s (Michael Douglas) gun collection, he called his Luger “The rarest pistol in the world.”
What makes it so special is that it’s in .45 caliber instead of the standard 9 mm, and only a few were made. Designed by Georg Luger, an Austrian, and Hugo Borchardt, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Germany, their pistols came to America in the early 20th century to audition in U.S. Military Test Trials. Earlier models had been made for the commercial market and the Swiss military.
Luger patented the first one in 1898 after Borchardt’s 1893 design.
The U.S. wanted to replace its .38 Long Colt caliber service revolvers with a semi-auto pistol that packed a punch. Lugers used in earlier U.S. tests were rejected because their smaller bores of 7.65 mm (.30 caliber) and 9 mm were too weak.
The inventors went back to the drawing board and came to the 1907 test trial with a .45 caliber version. The U.S., however, selected an entrée from American John Browning, the Colt Model 1911. Georg Luger returned to Germany and resumed making his pistol in 9 mm and 7.65 mm. An improved design in 1908 became the P.08 model, the familiar type that saw extensive use by the German military in two world wars. The P.38 model replaced it in 1942.
Serial number 1 of from the 1907 test trial disappeared. It’s believed the harsh effects of endurance testing rendered it useless and it was discarded. Its twin, serial number 2, is believed to have escorted number 1 to the trials but, in its role as an under study, was not used. It has passed through several owners, including an Indonesian businessman.
It is Lot 2062 in the March 14 auction presented by Greg Martin in Anaheim, Calif. The presale estimate is $500,000-$1,000,000. A third Luger from the 1907 test trial is believed to be the one on display at the R.W. Norton Gallery in Shreveport, La. It was reportedly purchased by Norton, an oilman, in the 1960s from collector Harry Jones, who said it came out of Canada. It’s a commercial model with only the number “3” on its magazine. A serial number 4 is also believed to exist, a souvenir taken back to the U.S. after the war.
Reproductions of the rare .45 caliber Luger have been made by two California gunsmiths, John Martz of Lincoln and Mike Krause in San Mateo. A .32 caliber version is also made by Krause.
Gun control
The issue of gun control in this important mid-term election year appears not to be on most politicians’ front burner. In fact, it’s not even on the stove.
In Washington state, a recent attempt to ban military-style assault weapons never made it out of committee.
The Associated Press reported, “Gun rights advocates packed a Senate Judiciary Committee and several senators vowed that the bill would not pass in this or any year.”
In Maryland, a state senator introduced an assault weapons ban that would also affect many semi-auto pistols.
Opposition was so strong he withdrew the proposed law two weeks later. However, two other politicians have introduced the Firearms Safety Act of 2010, which would require handgun buyers to purchase a permit in order to buy one.
In Connecticut, the Department of Public Safety proposed a ban of the private sale of all long guns. The plan was soon dropped. Residents, however, are required to report the private sale of handguns.
In Virginia, the Associated Press reported on Feb. 16, “Lawmakers have handily approved a flurry of bills to make it easier to buy and carry guns … many legislators say they can’t remember a year in which more bills were introduced to relax the state’s gun laws. They attribute it to having a Republican governor after two, four-year Democratic terms.”
Once signed, the bills will drop the one-gun-a-month law, will allow guns in restaurants, and make it easier to get a concealed carry permit.
Guns sold in record numbers in 2009 and coincidentally crime dropped during the same period. The FBI on Dec. 21 released this information: “Preliminary figures indicate that, as a whole, law enforcement agencies throughout the nation reported a decrease of 4.4 percent in the number of violent crime brought to their attention for the first six months of 2009 when compared with figures reported for the same time in 2008.” The report said property crimes dropped 6.1 percent.
Over in Ireland, a ban on handgun ownership had been lifted in 2004 after target shooter Frank Brophy challenged and overturned a 32-year restriction on having handguns. When it came to the government’s attention in 2008 that 1,800 citizens legally owned them, politicians thought that was way too many guns in public hands.
Ireland’s population is 4,459,300. The number of its citizens with legal handguns amounts to less than one-half of one percent. In contrast, U.S. gun ownership is about 25 percent of the population, or 77 million gun owners. But because gun owners often have more than one, it is estimated 350 million legal guns are in America. Many reports say the average gun owner has four guns. It’s good to be above average.
On July 24, 2009, Ireland again banned handguns. Persons already owning them will be licensed for three years after passing a medical, criminal and personal evaluation.
ABC television affiliate 40/29TV in Arkansas reported on Jan. 21 that the FBI has been distributing fliers to gun shops instructing employees how to identify terrorists if they come in to shop. In addition to paying with cash and buying large amounts of ammo, suspects may have a missing hand or fingers, chemical burns or stains on their clothing. |
| 3/3/2010 |
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