Arms, Armor and Militaria

9mm Para. 2.625" barrel length. SN: 7745b. Polished bright metal finish overall with straw colored small parts mounting bordered checkered walnut grips. Short recoil operated striker action toggle locked autoloading custom pistol fed by detachable single stack magazines. Left frame is struck with the circled JVM marking of gunsmith John V. Martz, followed by number 206. Toggle link is struck with the DWM marking and the barrel extension is dated 1917. The breechblock and barrel extension show Imperial German inspection marks and proofs, indicating the donor gun was a World War I German military Luger pistol. Pistol has been heavily customized with a shortened barrel, rebalanced action, and a shortened frame. Item comes with a custom stand composed of walnut and aluminum. The aluminum faux magazine supporting the pistol is struck JVM on the upper edge. The wood is additionally struck 3-17-82, indicating the stand was built in 1982, along with STAND BY/JOHN V. MARTZ. Included in the stand are two matching custom shortened polished bright magazines with wood base plugs showing JVM stamp and each numbered 1 and 2. Additionally included are seven dummy rounds of ammunition, and a Luger disassembly tool.

John V. Martz began working as a self-taught gunsmith in 1968, initially using his metalworking skills to repair Luger pistols and fit them with newly fabricated spare parts as the wartime bringbacks began to show over two decades of wear and tear. By 1977, Martz had committed himself as a full time gunsmith. In the years that followed, he established an esteemed reputation for restoring badly damaged handguns to good working order, and for producing unique custom varieties of both Luger pistols and P.38 pistols. This lot represents one of his "Baby" Luger 9mm caliber pistols, a compact conversion of the original Luger pistol inspired by the prototypes supervised by Georg Luger himself. Martz died on July 15, 2013, having endeared himself to the shooting and collecting communities with his restorations, unique creations, and his eclectic sense of humor. {MODERN}