[Frank]

Douglas, not a stupid question at all, just the story is stupid.

All the byf 41 Lugers were designated for use in Germany, either the military or Police. To the best of my knowledge no byf 41 Lugers were sent to either Portugal or Bulgaria!!

1942 Lugers (byf42) were used by the German Army, some went to Portugal and some to Bulgaria. The Germans used byf 42 Lugers from serial numbers in the no suffix through the L-Block, well over 100,000 pistols. The Germans sold about 5,000 Lugers to Portugal in the M-Block, up to 5300m. They sold an additional 5,000 Lugers to Bulgaria from the mid N-Block to the early N-Block.

 

[Frank]

Bill,

Quote:
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IMHO, the only reason that a person would pay more for a byf with composite grips, vs. one with walnut grips, would be because they have been taken in by the b.s. and hype that has been foisted off on the unknowing, read gullible, collecting public.
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I couldn't agree more!! With the "Black Widow" hype and the ability to get decent looking fake plastic grips, the unknowing novice collector is being taken big time.

 

[Frank]

Pancho, all I meant was that there is plenty of hype out there for the "SS" or "Nasty Guys" having Lugers with the black Bakelite Grips. Many people might want one of these Lugers for that reason.

You are correct that these grips are worth more because of the good old Law of Supply and Demand. This is such a premium, many people are producing fake grips to fool the unsuspecting public. These guys make the fakes for about $25, then jack the price of the pistol up by $300, thus making a cool 20% or so above the legit price of the pistol.

I have seen many of these fakes around, so just be careful or be prepared to be taken for a several hundred dollar ride!!