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A friend of mine has a 9mm luger 1937 4 inch barrel held on a license can anyone suggest what it is worth and is it worth more as a deact ?

Dea&@£?!

I can't even say nor type that word
It is not big, not clever, not done.

Section 5, section 7/1 or section 7/3 - all will affect the price. Put it into Holts to auction.

I know the idea of using the D word is horrible but could it be held as a section 7(1) and could i do that with a variation on my license ? i thought only obsolete calibres counted

S.7 has to be pre 1919 manufacture.

At the moment this looks very much like a S.5.....

I thought S 7(1) was only for pre-1918 guns, of obsolete caliber

S7(3) was for pre-'45 guns, to be held at a designated range for occasional shooting

saddler wrote:I thought S 7(1) was only for pre-1918 guns, of obsolete caliber

S7(3) was for pre-'45 guns, to be held at a designated range for occasional shooting

7(3), is that pre '45? I thought both 1 and 3, were for pre 1919....... learn something new everyday!

Section 7(3) is not limited to pre-1945. It is for any handgun deemed to be of historic importance, aesthetic quality, technical interest or particular rarity.

Through case law and Home Office guidance:

Anything made or modified to become of special aesthetic quality after 1996 will not be included
Anything pre-1919 may be of historic importance by virtue of age alone
Anything post-1945 will not be of historic importance by virtue of age alone
A firearm may be of historic importance by virtue of its (previous) ownership or use by a person of historical importance or by a person who took part in events of historic importance
To be of technical interest it must have some unique feature, purpose, mechanism etc - or be an example of the first of its kind in some way

Section 7(1) is for pre-1919 guns chambered in cartridges that are not readily available. Being both post-1919 and chambered in 9mm this gun cannot fall under this section.

It might fall under section 7(3) by virtue of age alone since it is pre-1945 but it is towards the tail end of the 1919-1945 grey area. If it was issued to the German military then it would probably meet the historic importance criteria by virtue of having taken part in historic events - but how much leeway they give you I do not know. They might expect you to prove it was actually issued for example, and not sitting in storage somewhere, or to prove it was used on the front lines or in some specific context e.g. guarding Colditz, and not just kept in the desk draw of a supply officer in Berlin.

What condition is it in? Scratches, dings, pitting, rust etc? How is the blueing? Do the numbers match? On the magazine too? Does it come with a holster? What markings does it have (police, navy, etc)? Wood or Bakelite grips?

Depending on all those factors it could be worth £2,300, in the USA at least. On the other hand I've seen section 7(3) Lugers for less than £450. There's quite a bit of money at stake so I'd suggest you do some research and find out what sort of price your particular gun could command here or abroad.

Personally I don't think I'd deactivate it even if there was money to be made in doing so.

Don't deactivate the Luger please, I understand that I am really not qualified to comment on this situation, just breaks my heart to think a Luger would be made into an ornament.

I agree on the de act front but its got to go and for the owner money is sadly very important at the moment ,
its condition is vgood numbers match bluing v good (used ) no holster bakelite grips , how can you tell army or navy ?
how would you sell in the USA ?