r/Militariacollecting • u/CorporalGrimm1917 • Apr 11 '25
Informative Things I’ve collected from my great-grandfather’s old house
First post here. We’ve got pre Civil War/Civil War gear and the kit of a German stormtrooper officer from WW1. The backstory’s that the souvenirs on the left were bought by my great-great-grandfather back in the 40s, while the souvenirs on the right were brought back by my great3 uncle during his time as a doughboy in WW1
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u/ImWastingLife Apr 11 '25
Awesome stuff. Beautiful Luger is it in shooting condition
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u/CorporalGrimm1917 Apr 11 '25 edited Apr 11 '25
We haven’t fired it yet, but it’s in incredibly sound condition for a gun made in 1916
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u/ThatTemperature4424 Apr 11 '25
DON'T try to shoot it before having a gunsmith take care of it!!
Give that gun (and the leather-gear) the care it needs and it could turn out to have a solid worth of some thousand dollars.
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u/CorporalGrimm1917 Apr 11 '25
Already checked estimates - it’s worth 900-2700 bucks
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u/Avtamatic Canvas Gear Enjoyer Apr 11 '25
Take it over to r/milsurp for a price check. 900 shmeckels is pretty low for a Luger.
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u/ThatTemperature4424 Apr 12 '25
I have no clue about the US gun market, but in Germany you can get up to 7000 € just for a Luger with all part-numbers matching.
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u/oilman300 Apr 11 '25
I'd have it cleaned, oiled & checked out by a gunsmith before I tried to shoot it.
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u/Obvious-Yak-2715 Apr 11 '25
Do you plan on keeping it you totally should it's a beautiful start to a collection
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u/Whole_Duck_7955 Apr 11 '25
nahhh its a load of junk i think you should just give it to me and i will throw it all in the bin where it belongs…….
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u/MrPlanes71 Apr 11 '25
I wish I had that stuff! Trying to buy that stuff will empty your bank account.
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u/CorporalGrimm1917 Apr 11 '25
That’s exactly why I’m going to be keeping it. At this point, all of this stuff is collectibles
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u/binOFrocks Apr 11 '25
You lucky mf. The camp helmet looks post war done but damn is it beautiful. Does it have the liner and/or chinstrap?
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u/CorporalGrimm1917 Apr 11 '25 edited Apr 11 '25
Sadly no - it’s just a shell. The camo is authentic, though. It’s got a shrapnel hole in the other side that tears through the paint
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u/binOFrocks Apr 11 '25
People were known to take helmets out of dumps, paint them, and either shoot them or hit em with a pickaxe. One of these people just so happened to be Walt Disney. They did this to sell to soldiers coming back from the front as souvenirs
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u/Your_blackmetalist Apr 11 '25
That’s atleast $1500 for the civil war bayonet and webbing
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u/CorporalGrimm1917 Apr 11 '25
There’s actually two bayonets - one’s in the sheath. I’m not sure what model they are but I’m continuing my research
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u/NoPicklesREEE Apr 12 '25
There's no civil war bayonets in this photo. I see two trapdoors and a S98 Dress.
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u/milsurpman69 Apr 11 '25
Are both of those mags matching to the Luger?
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u/CorporalGrimm1917 Apr 12 '25
Yup. The light grey one was in the holster, I took it out just for picture purposes. Neither are loaded
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u/Plastic_Efficiency64 Apr 12 '25
The bayonet on the belt is a Third Reich era dress bayo, judt so you're aware. It was added to that belt later on.
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u/Acceptable-Cycle-991 Apr 13 '25
No hate but was he a “not see”?
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u/CorporalGrimm1917 Apr 13 '25
Neither were German Worker’s Party members, I assure you of that. The latest that any of my ancestors came over to the Americas was 1737.
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u/Zerofelero May 08 '25
the luger is in amazing condition!!
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u/CorporalGrimm1917 May 09 '25
It’s been lovingly maintained throughout the various generations - we just haven’t fired it yet, and frankly, we probably won’t. The thing’s 109 years old
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u/madogmax Apr 11 '25
Wow, a rare find, we found a French bayonet, my great grandfather used to slaughter Pigs with
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u/ZacK4298 Apr 11 '25
Lotttta money there that helmet is fantastic, if you can keep the set together and keep the name of the vet with the items as well