Rare Luger pistol achieves 38% increase on estimate in UK auction

A rare Luger pistol that was built for the Prince of Furstenburg has sold with excellent results as part of a UK auction held in conjunction with Sotheby's.

The auction, which was held on December 12 in London, saw the pistol sell for £16,500 ($26,588), making a 37.5% increase on the high end of its £8,000-12,000 estimate.

Prince Furstenburg Luger pistol
The prince also named a street after Andre Noel in thanks for his efforts



The gun is one of just 10 examples ever built at the Luger factory, with each personally inspected to the highest standards by George Luger himself. Each of the pistols was then presented to high profile members of society in various countries, including President Roosevelt, inventor Hiram Maxim and Kaiser Wilhelm II.

The German Prince of Furstenburg was one such lucky recipient in 1902. He passed the gun on to Andre Noel, governor of Konstanz, in 1946, in thanks for saving his life from French troops.

In the aftermath of the second world war, the soldiers were preparing to hang Furstenburg for supposedly displaying the French flag upside down. Luckily, Noel arrived at the scene and explained that the prince was simply displaying his family banner, which is very similar to the French flag but with the colours reversed.

As well as presenting him with the pistol, the prince also named the street Andrenoelstrasse in his honour. The Luger has remained in Noel's family ever since and was consigned to auction directly.

Paul Fraser Collectibles has a fantastic selection of militaria for sale. For more of the latest news from across the auction world, sign up to our free weekly newsletter.

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