P38 value

[michiganfan]

The husband of an elderly lady in our office had her husband pass away. He had a couple of guns she wanted me to look at. Went over and the one gun is a P38. It had the markings of 1881 ac 44. I know her late husband saw combat in Europe in WWII. Got a guess on value. it is in good condition had all the bluing and I am guessing the original grips.

 

[RON in PA]

WW2 era P-38s seem to have gone up in value in the last couple of years and the ones I see in my neck of the woods are going for $500-600. Post-war surplus P-1s are going for half that.

 

[Trebor]

AC 44 means is was made by Walther in 1944. That's a pretty common P-38. By 1944 production was pretty much ramped up and the general fit and finish of the guns had declined slightly.

Most of the parts should be marked with the serial number or partial number. Check to see if they match. If they don't, that brings the value down some.

Without seeing it, I'd say a run-of-the-mill bringback AC 44 P-38 with matching numbers could go anywhere from $400 to $600. It would have to be very, very nice to hit the high end. If the gun has the original holster or a second mag, that helps. The original caputure papers help too. (I'm assuming 90%+ original bluing and that the grips are not cracked)

Sorry I can't narrow it done more than that without seeing it.

Rob

 

[popeye]

Check for proof marks (tiny spread wing eagles) on slide and frame, and front block (action block?) that stays with barrel if it's removed. Proof marks mean gun was tested with ammo 20% hotter than standard. Lack of proof marks means gun was produced at a point in war when quality really fell off. Most of those type poor quality guns were produced in '45 and should not be fired. I had a '44 Mauser and sold it.