Likelihood of Finding My Grandfather's Engraved Gun

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Life During Wartime

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So, my grandfather was a Police Officer and when he retired he was presented a Walter PPK (possibly /s) in a box and on it was engraved his name, rank and years he served. After he died, the vast majority of his guns were sold. I am interested in the likelihood of being able to find it if I advertised in a newspaper. Possibly at a national level. My thought is that as long as it didn't get so neglected by someone as to rust away or sold off in a gun buy back, or god forbid used in a crime, it hsould be ou there
 
I agree. It could well be out there and able to be recovered *but* I'm betting this could be an expensive process getting the word out.

I wish you the very best of luck in finding it. I inherited select pieces from my Father in law and it has changed the whole way I see many things. It is a huge comfort to have those guns in my home and in my possession to be preserved and cherished.

I can only imagine how much you'd desire your Grandfathers presentation.

Good luck!!

VooDoo
 
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If you have a photo of it, that would help. Also, taking an expensive ad in the American Rifleman and/or Shotgun News would get a lot of exposure, as would putting out the "wants" on the Walther forums and web pages.
 
What have you tried to do to locate it? If I was just starting to look for it I would try using the internet search engines first. I would use something like rank, last name, Walther and see if anything comes up. Gun people like to show off their guns and something like that gun might have been mentioned online.
Do you know any details of the sale? When, where and how (private sale, auction,etc.) might help determine where to start looking or where to concentrate advertising.
Just my thoughts.
 
Good luck

Try Waltherforum - quite a few collectors over there

Hopefully you don't find it and then run into a wall trying to get it out of the USA and into CA
 
I would guess the Walther forum and the P38 forum. Anybody that buys it may have questions about it.

Also, every time you post, like here, include whatever is engraved on it. Hopefully Someone will google the inscription, the department, whatever and link back to your post searching for it.

It may be years, I wish you luck.
 
Have you thought about searching locally first? If Cali's laws are anything like most of the country (laughable as that thought is) private sales it is likely that the gun is probably still in your region (assuming it didn't get picked up as you described).

Try placing ads on armslist, craigslist, and with the gun clubs in your local area first. Much cheaper and potentially more effective than in a national rag.

Talk to your family, if your grandfather's things were sold by an auction house or sold to a local ffl, then there has to be a record somewhere. Maybe you can get some leads that way.

Maybe you can find out from the department who they would have bought such a piece from at that time, find the old timers if there are any left, and then go to that dealer etc etc.

Heck, if the engraving was done by Walther they may even be able to help!

Modern firearms sales through dealers create a lot of paper work, you may have some more options than you think.

I really hope you find what you are looking for, you just are going to have to dig deeper.
 
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Thank you guys for the suggestions! :)

So I talked with my family more about in particular and there is a few discrepancies in their stories. My Mom says that she was told that all of the guns (save the 2 my dad rescued), were sold. My Dad however says that y aunt kept the Retirement Pistol, in which case I am content since its in the family. Since I don't know who is correct, I will try the forums and such. My mom also says that the guns were sold to his fellow officers at the PD, so I am sure that if I could find who has it, they would be very glad to return it. However, the way my dad talked, I was always given the impression it was just sold off to people in lots.

I don't know what to think. I can't eactly contact the person who was in charge of selling the guns, because she is my aunt who we haven't seen more or less since he died, which is a shame. I can't eactly ask her if she has it or not.
 
I can't eactly contact the person who was in charge of selling the guns, because she is my aunt who we haven't seen more or less since he died, which is a shame. I can't eactly ask her if she has it or not.
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Are you afraid that she is going to come beat you up if you call her, tell her you are interested in your grandfather's pistol, and wonder if she has any information on it?

What's the worst thing that can happen, she won't talk to you anymore? Sounds like that's the normal state of affairs between you anyway.
 
Life During Wartime said:
Thank you guys for the suggestions! :)

So I talked with my family more about in particular and there is a few discrepancies in their stories. My Mom says that she was told that all of the guns (save the 2 my dad rescued), were sold. My Dad however says that y aunt kept the Retirement Pistol, in which case I am content since its in the family. Since I don't know who is correct, I will try the forums and such. My mom also says that the guns were sold to his fellow officers at the PD, so I am sure that if I could find who has it, they would be very glad to return it. However, the way my dad talked, I was always given the impression it was just sold off to people in lots.

I don't know what to think. I can't eactly contact the person who was in charge of selling the guns, because she is my aunt who we haven't seen more or less since he died, which is a shame. I can't eactly ask her if she has it or not.
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Sounds like reason enough to reestablish that relationship. If what you really want to know is of the gun has stayed in the family, what can it hurt to simply ask?

I've got family that, sadly, I have nothing to do with. However, if I was wondering about a family heirloom, I would ask if I suspected they had it. If the answer is yes, that would satisfy my curiosity, and I would be content knowing it is in the family. If the answer is no, then the search goes on. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and it would make better sense to rule out the possibility before going on a nationwide hunt for it.
 
I ran into a similar problem, trying to locate some of my father's guns that were passed to my brother, when my father died.

My brother and I divided up my father's firearms, shortly after my father died. Brother, a teacher, got in a financial bind later and sold off all his firearms, including the ones he inherited from my father. Among the sold firearms: Two pristine 70 Series Gold Cups; one pristine, folding-stock M1 carbine; one Colt Woodsman 3rd series Match Target, one Colt WWII 1911 etc....some nice firearms.

I found out about the sale of the firearms a few years after the fact. Tried in vain to run some of them down. Was never able to locate any.

Brother was too embarrassed about his finances to give me an opportunity to buy the guns.

FWIW, count me in as one of those advising to simply ask the aunt.
 
Life During Wartime said:
Thank you guys for the suggestions! :)



I don't know what to think. I can't eactly contact the person who was in charge of selling the guns, because she is my aunt who we haven't seen more or less since he died, which is a shame. I can't eactly ask her if she has it or not.
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Better late than never. Who knows, your aunt may enjoy reminiscing about your Dad with someone that loved him too. Never discount your family's love, never avoid that love from shame. I volunteer at a Veteran's home where over 95% of the people there have been forgotten by their families which is the real shame because they have so much to share.
 
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If you do go national, write a letter to Guns and Ammo and American Rifleman, they may be willing to publish as a letter to the editor to help you out.

Ad in Shotgun News. Post on the Walther forum.
 
I think your chances of finding it are slim, but I STILL think that you should go for it, because miracles DO happen. Not being smug, I really mean it.

It brings up a good point - why do people sell historical family stuff like this?? I saw it happen with musical instruments a lot. I guess if you need money , I can understand that, or some people don't like guns, I can understand that, too. I think a lot of people do it just to get closet space, though. They should consider that someone else in the family might want it. Oh well. :)

Best of luck on your search!
 
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