That's insane! Our presidents aren't Nazis--they're Fascists!

But no... no idea, really. You've probably come to the right place, though; there's probably some historian around here who's not only heard of this, but has a perfectly logical explanation....

Edit: I'm going to try to do some research on this. That thing might be worth a fortune.

That is very interesting. And what a beautiful gun. The coloring looks different around the U.S logo. My guess is that someone had that stamping added after it was obtained.

Could the previous owner have replaced parts on the gun? Maybe thats how the seals got mixed together. I would say the barrel was already like that and the grip was added later.

Hi there,

as stated above , i think the grip ( with the US seal ) was added later on,
My late Grandfather had one and he added a British army grip to it .

a lot of Lugers were brought back and the owners wanted to put their own mark on it so to speak.

snoopyuk

I would think finding spare parts for a Luger P08 would be hard enough,let alone spare parts that for some reason have a United States logo on it. Our guys were using 1911's back then. It looks as though it was stamped on,and had bluing sprayed on that area,like they taped up the gun besides a square where the logo resides.All the other etchings look like they are supposed to be there,as opposed to the U.S logo.

My grandfather had one of those very similar to that, it too had a seal on the handle.

He told me it was because the one he had was damaged and he had it replaced during the War.

As others have said here.

I'd have 2 questions and 1 depends on the other.

Can you have your friend disassemble this and verify serial numbers across the various parts? Having sold a Walther with 1945 history to it last year, I learned how critical that one detail is. If they match, you have something. If they don't? Well.. how's it shoot for a functional range gun?

If they match...then I'd have your friend take it to a fine gun appraiser or, if they live near a Bass Pro Shop, take it in there and ask. Cabellas also has a few locations with Fine gun rooms and the staff working inside are priceless, no pun intended, for giving thumbnail values and an idea of whether something is worth paying for a better analysis or just keeping as a very nice keepsake.

You need to go to a Luger forum somewhere. If that thing is original, it is worth a fortune. But be concerned (maybe not for yourself) however, because that gun will have a history and it may not be, shall we say, proper.

The gun is a Pre War DMW Luger.
Is it in .30 Cal or 9mm?
Engraving Original
The grips appear fake. The eagle lacks the definitions of German produced Grips, However it is not impossible. The Grips appear newer plastic. The color scheme appears to be of the NSSK (Transportation)

The Seal was clearly added later. I believe it is used by the Federal Ordnance company who re issues WWII weapons as commemoration.

However the grips if real could be worth 3x as much as the pistol I have seen ornate Luger grips such as these sell for $2000

I would honestly need a complete break down on the guns to make a judgment. Does the side have any WAA markings Eagle/#. Is it all matching.

When judging WWII weapons providence is everything. I no longer buy any German weapons unless they have the original military capture papers with them. The losers weapons are always worth more, so the more apt to be faked.

First off this isn't engraved - it's chemically etched, meaning the designs aren't cut in using tools but rather applied by using a light sensitive mask and transparent film which is then placed in acid to remove the areas to be decorated.
I was a gun engraver for over 25 years and I've seen many strange lugers but none like this.
Odds are someone did these modifications and added the grips to try to bilk some money from a collector.
Where the Presidential seal is located is where the manufacturer's stamp normally is.