Gentlemen:  I have found this forum to be a wealth of information. It certainly helped me decide which AR to buy and where to buy it.  I would like to dip into this well of knowledge one more time.

I purchased a Luger at a collectors gun show yesteday. Not being a Luger collecter but wanting a good representitive piece to add to my other significant handguns from the first half of the 20th century, I purchased a DWM marked 1920 with all matching numbers except the magazine. This pistol is in 9mm.

Out of the 200 or so Lugers at the show, this one was the lowest priced although it looks good and seems to function well although I haven't shot it yet.  While I understand why scarce variations and historicaly significant examples can command very high prices, I was wondering why mine was so cheap (realitively speaking)compared to all the others.  Is this the most common? Is there some other factor that makes this pistol so undesirable?  Thank you in advance for your help.
(I paid a little over $600)

It would've helped if you had listed your price. Hard to say if you got a good deal or got ripped w/o knowing what you paid.

Most shooters are in the $400 & up range. You'll occasionally find one in the $350 range.

For useless trivia, the most expensive Luger ever sold was for a cool $1 Million. And yes, he took it out & shot it!

Value of Lugers is determined by many things...
rarity of the variation, condition and originality, and all matching numbers throughout.

1920 Commercials are the most common variety encountered, and cover the initial Weimar Era production.

Post WW1, some military pistols were refurbished for the commercial market, some were assembled from parts already on the factory lines, and some were made new.

If all your parts are numbered to match, and no reblue has been done, and it has decent original finish left on it, sounds like you got a pretty good deal, maybe a bit less than I have seen nice '20 Commercials go for at some shows.

Not to barge in, but where do you find just a nice shooter.  My father is a luger fan, and it's partially rubbed off on me.  I always thought it would be fun to have just a shooter, possibly with the longer artillary barrel.  Where do you find such pieces.  It seems all the sites have nothing but collector models, or at least models being passed off as high dollar collector models.

Gundraw

There's several ads in Shotgun News or Gun List listing Lugers in the $400 range. Make sure you have a 3 day grace period when you call & inquire.

You could also hit up the Luger Collector's Assoc., I'm sure there's some good shooters for sale with those guys.

Good luck!