Luger drum magazine?

[buccaneere]

Anyone ever seen hardware like this before? Looks like it has just come upon the marketplace; I wonder how much?



Looks like more here, not far from my parent's house.

[james m]

What you have is a Luger "Snail drum" magazine complete with it's dustcover. These drums had a capacity of 32 rounds and require a separate loader to fill entirely. While these are usually associated with " Artillery" long barrel models they will work with any military Luger. Snail drums along with a board stock were regularly issued to artillary and other units during WW I and the purpose was to serve as a short barrel carbine where a rifle would be cumbersome and more that just a pistol was needed. I guess these could be considered the first "Assault pistol" in a way. They are a very desirable accessory for any Luger collector.
Jim

[ottomaton]

An original drum by itself (no gun) will go for well north of $1000. I believe, like anything else, there are sub-variations and makers that will affect value for the hardcore collector.

I do know that there have been functional reproductions, so you should probably confirm originality.

[edbullet]

I think the repo ones only hold eight rounds but not sure

[Hoss]

I think the repo ones only hold eight rounds but not sure

Gents
Be careful of repops. They are almost identical and do hold the same amount of rounds. They are a bitch to load without the loader, I believe originals are proof stamped. The finish is usually not a guide many have been repainted or blued.
Repop loaders fetch high dollar too. Some old jobs even have faked proof stamp!

Regards
Eric

[james m]

I should have added:
If you will post some good closeup of the markings I can probably tell you more about your drum.
Jim

[Hoss]

Hi James
Those pieces fetch good money now. I used three with my WW1 Bergmann MP18 twenty odd year ago. They were big bucks then!

Eric

[buccaneere]

No - not mine, and probably won't - only because I don't know enough about German hardware to buy wisely...

They're part of an estate sale that's just come onto the market, and ONLINE BIDS ARE BEING TAKEN...

Link here...