Journal · Collector’s Guide
Engraved Krieghoff Luger: A Platinum P.08 Dated 1939
This engraved Krieghoff Luger is one of about ten that the Suhl factory finished as presentation pieces. It is plated in platinum, cut with oak leaves over about three quarters of the metal, and fitted with walnut grips carved to match. Hermann Göring, commander of the Luftwaffe, owned one of them, serial 16999. Ours is serial 17303, and its frame carries the same engraved date as his, 15.8.39. It is part of the Old Steel Arsenal collection.
Krieghoff and the Luftwaffe Luger
Krieghoff was a Suhl family firm long before it made a Luger. Ludwig Krieghoff and a partner founded Sempert & Krieghoff there in 1886. His son Heinrich set up his own company, Heinrich Krieghoff, in Suhl in 1916, and the two firms were merged under Heinrich in 1919. That is the name engraved on the frame of our pistol: Heinrich Krieghoff, Waffenfabrik, Suhl.
Krieghoff came to the Luger through Simson. According to Forgotten Weapons, Krieghoff had worked as a subcontractor to Simson rebuilding Lugers in the Weimar years, gained control of the Simson Luger tooling, and used it to make a new set of its own. When the new Luftwaffe needed pistols, Krieghoff went after a contract for 10,000 Lugers and won it.
The same source gives the production picture this way:
| Period | Krieghoff Lugers |
|---|---|
| 1935–1937 | 10,000 delivered to the Luftwaffe |
| 1940–1944 | 2,000 more, in small batches |
| 1945 | 200 |
| Commercial | 1,625, including a few highly embellished guns |
| Total | 13,825 |
The standard Lugers were working service pistols for Göring’s air force. The few highly embellished guns are counted among the commercial ones.
Hermann Göring’s Krieghoff Luger, serial 16999
Randall Gibson’s reference book The Krieghoff Parabellum puts the number of these factory-engraved presentation Lugers at about ten, in the serial range between 16000 and 18000. The same book records serial 16999 as Hermann Göring’s, with oak leaf engraving almost identical to ours and the same date.
Forgotten Weapons, filming one of Göring’s platinum Lugers, called its link to him “quite well documented.” It describes the pistols tied to Göring as serialized between the 16,900s and the 17,200s, all with the same marking dated August 15, 1939. Our 17303 falls just above that span; it carries the same date. The one Forgotten Weapons filmed has ivory grips, so these pistols were not all fitted alike.
How to read an engraved Krieghoff Luger
The toggle. A Krieghoff Luger is identified first by its front toggle link, which carries the firm’s mark: an anchor with a sword, the letters H and K, and KRIEGHOFF SUHL. On our pistol the engraver framed the mark in a plain oval and cut oak leaves around it.
The frame inscription. On the left side of the frame, behind the side plate and above the grip, the engraver cut HEINRICH KRIEGHOFF / WAFFENFABRIK / SUHL, and under it the date 15. 8. 39, written day first in the German way: August 15th, 1939. Seventeen days later, on September 1st, Germany invaded Poland. What the date itself marks is not recorded in our sources.
The star. Look at the right side of the receiver, at the front end next to the barrel. There is a small, outlined five-pointed star. It is a Luftwaffe rejection stamp: the part was turned down at air force acceptance and was not issued to the air force. The same star is recorded on other guns from this engraved group, and rejected parts like this one went into Krieghoff’s showpieces.
The numbers. Both magazines that came with the pistol are numbered to it, 17303 on each base plate.
For the stamps found on ordinary service Lugers, from chamber dates to acceptance marks, see our guide to Luger P08 markings.
Oak leaves, walnut and platinum
The engraving is oak leaf and acorn work on a stippled ground, with a rope border running along the receiver. It covers about three quarters of the gun. Most of the barrel is plain, apart from an engraved band at the muzzle, and plain fields around the lettering and the trademark keep them legible.
The grips are walnut, carved in relief with the same oak leaves around a checkered oval. The metal has a platinum-plated finish.
How it came to America
Forgotten Weapons notes that several of these pistols now documented in the United States came home with American servicemen as souvenirs in 1945. Ours comes with a family story rather than paperwork.
According to his family, Joseph Zachara was a staff sergeant from Chicago in the 78th Infantry Division. He fought in the Hürtgen Forest, the Bulge and at Remagen, and after the war he served in Berlin. His family says this pistol came home with him. We have no documents beyond their account.
For background, the division’s own history: the 78th went into combat in December 1944 near the Hürtgen Forest and held its sector around Monschau through the German Ardennes offensive that winter. In February 1945 it took the Schwammenauel Dam, in March its 310th Infantry Regiment crossed the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen right behind the 9th Armored Division, and in November 1945 the 78th relieved the 82nd Airborne Division on occupation duty in Berlin.
What we found when we cleaned it
When we cleaned it, we found a short blond hair stuck in the grease. That grease looked like nobody had touched it in decades. Honestly, it gave us chills. We have no way of knowing whose it was.
Specifications
| Item | Krieghoff P.08, serial 17303 |
|---|---|
| Maker | Heinrich Krieghoff Waffenfabrik, Suhl, Germany |
| Model | P.08 (Luger) |
| Frame inscription date | 15. 8. 39 (August 15, 1939) |
| Finish | Platinum plated |
| Engraving | Oak leaves over about three quarters of the gun, rope border |
| Grips | Walnut, relief carved with oak leaves |
| Magazines | Two, both numbered 17303 |
| Special mark | Five-pointed star rejection stamp, front of the receiver, right side |
Collecting an engraved Krieghoff
Most Krieghoff Lugers a collector will meet are plain Luftwaffe service guns. Factory-engraved ones are rare enough that each should be compared, detail by detail, with the documented examples in Gibson’s book; no single mark settles it.
A Luger dated 1939 is well over 50 years old, and an original of that age falls in the federal curio and relic category; our curio and relic guide explains what that means.
On the floor at OSA
The engraved Krieghoff in these photos is part of the Old Steel Arsenal collection. If Lugers are your field, these pieces in our case come from the same family:
- 1911 DWM Luger P08, German Army accepted: a prewar service P08 from DWM, the original Luger maker.
- DWM 1915 LP.08 Artillery Luger: the long-barreled First World War version of the same toggle-locked pistol.
- DWM P.08, 1918, Weimar police: a 1918 DWM later marked for Weimar-era police, the years when Krieghoff was rebuilding Lugers for Simson.
- Waffenfabrik Bern Swiss Luger 06/29 in .30 Luger: the Luger as the Swiss built it at their own arsenal in Bern.
The grid below updates by itself as pieces come and go.
Mauser byf 41 Black Widow Luger P08 9mm All Matching Rig with 1942 Holster Original price was: $3,950.00.$3,650.00Current price is: $3,650.00.
DWM Police Luger P08 9mm Unit Marked with 1933 Robert Larsen Berlin Holster$2,650.00
DWM P.08 Luger 9mm — 1918, Weimar Police, Matching$2,365.00
DWM commercial Luger P08 pistol$1,549.00
Waffenfabrik Bern Swiss Luger 06/29 pistol chambered in .30 Luger$2,379.00
DWM 1915 LP.08 Artillery Luger pistol chambered in 9x19mm$2,799.00The short version is on our Instagram. Watch it on Instagram.
General information for collectors, not legal advice. Production figures and the number of engraved pieces come from secondary sources; the history of this pistol before it reached us is the Zachara family’s account.
Common Questions
How many Krieghoff Lugers were made?
Heinrich Krieghoff Waffenfabrik of Suhl made 13,825 Lugers, according to Forgotten Weapons: 10,000 for the Luftwaffe in 1935–1937, 2,200 more delivered in small batches through 1945, and 1,625 commercial guns.How do you identify a Krieghoff Luger?
Start with the front toggle link. Krieghoff Lugers carry the firm’s trademark there, an anchor with a sword and the letters H and K, with KRIEGHOFF SUHL. Then check that the serial numbers and other markings agree with the rest of the gun.How many engraved Krieghoff Lugers were made?
Very few. Randall Gibson’s book The Krieghoff Parabellum puts the number of factory-engraved presentation pieces at about ten. The one in the Old Steel Arsenal collection, serial 17303, is platinum plated and engraved with oak leaves.Did Hermann Göring own a Krieghoff Luger?
Yes. Gibson’s book records serial 16999, an oak-leaf engraved Krieghoff P.08 dated 15.8.39, as Göring’s. Forgotten Weapons also describes Göring’s Krieghoffs as platinum plated.What does 15.8.39 mean on a Krieghoff Luger?
It is a date written day first in the German way: August 15, 1939. Forgotten Weapons reports that the platinum Krieghoffs tied to Göring all bear a marking with this date; on our serial 17303 it is engraved on the left side of the frame.What does a star stamp on a Krieghoff Luger mean?
On our engraved Krieghoff, serial 17303, the small five-pointed star at the front of the receiver is a Luftwaffe rejection stamp: the part was turned down at air force acceptance. The same star is recorded on other guns from the engraved group.Sources
- Randall Gibson, The Krieghoff Parabellum, p. 200 (about ten factory-engraved presentation pieces in the 16000–18000 serial range; serial 16999 as Göring’s, with nearly identical engraving and the same date)
- Forgotten Weapons, “Göring’s Platinum Lugers” — https://www.forgottenweapons.com/gorings-platinum-lugers/ (the filmed pistol’s link to Göring well documented, ivory grips, serial range 16,900s to 17,200s, all dated August 15, 1939, several brought home by US servicemen in 1945)
- Forgotten Weapons, “Krieghoff Lugers for the Luftwaffe” — https://www.forgottenweapons.com/krieghoff-lugers-for-the-luftwaffe/ (Simson subcontract and tooling, 10,000-pistol Luftwaffe contract, deliveries by period, 1,625 commercial, 13,825 total)
- Krieghoff, “Family-run business since 1886” — https://www.krieghoff.de/en/company/history/ (Sempert & Krieghoff 1886, Heinrich Krieghoff 1916, 1919 merger)
- Wikipedia, “78th Infantry Division (United States)” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/78th_Infantry_Division_%28United_States%29 (December 1944 entry into combat near the Hürtgen Forest, Monschau sector held through the winter, Schwammenauel Dam, 310th at Remagen, Berlin occupation from November 1945)
- Wikipedia, “Invasion of Poland” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Poland (began 1 September 1939)
- Wikipedia, “Hermann Göring” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_G%C3%B6ring (commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe)
- 27 CFR 478.11, definition of curios or relics — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-27/chapter-II/subchapter-B/part-478/subpart-B/section-478.11 (firearms manufactured at least 50 years prior)