Sauer and Sohn 38H

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mesinge2

mesinge2

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I recently talked about my fiancee in the thread below:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=472707

She is getting as bad as me. I love it.

I got home from work and she rushed me in and showed me the gun she bought on her way home from work.

View attachment 105547

I tell you she's got an eye. It came with a paper from the United States European Theater allowing the US soldier to bring the weapon to the US. The paperwork says it is a Sauer and Sohn 38H Crown N. It came with the original German holster and it is 7.65mm (.32acp).

She got it for $230.

Anyone know what its worth?
 
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Hello. It is a nice and well made gun, but be VERY careful when decocking - if the lever slips under your thumb while you decock it is possible that the gun will go off.

Boris
 
Having been interested in this pistol myself, and from what I have seen, the gun could be easily worth two to three times what she paid for it, or more, depending on condition. The papers would add value to a collector.
 
Lock her up, she STOLE it!

Great find. And yes I've seen those sell for $600 without capture papers.
 
I'd also add that if the gun is Nazi marked the price goes right up towards the higher end. That documentation will be a big plus for some collectors.

A bit of trivia. In the Bond novel Dr. No, when they were choosing the replacement for Bond's Beretta, the 38H was one of the guns considered before choosing the PPK.
 
even if it was disfunctional .. it would be good price
as a collectors item....

STEAL!

:) good wife you got there.
Show us her capture-papers :D
 
$230? Bargain of the year. The gun, alone, is worth twice that. With holster and capture papers, somewhere between three and four times that sum.
Click to expand...

Yup, three or four times what she paid. I forgot about the holster. And, with it being Nazi stamped, assuming condition (hard time seeing with the photo, and I'm assuming a good bore) it's a bellringer.

If I had come across that gun I would have had my wallet out and 4473 filled out so fast you would have had whiplash trying to watch.
 
Sorry, about the eariler picture is was a phone camera. I tired to take a pic of the Nazi marking but it did not come out well, but I put them in anyways. I also included a picture of the paperwork.

View attachment 105606
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View attachment 105609

As you can see it is absolutely covered in oil. She covers all her guns in oil. She is terrified that they will fall apart without it.

P.S. Its functional, shhh, I fired it into the dirt in my back yard. Two full mags worth, it works great!

Next time I go to a gun show she is leading the way.
 
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Rough finishes on the wartime 38H was the rule rather than the exception. The difference in finishes between wartime production and other production is huge, as would be expected. Your 38H looks pretty typical. For those that know the 38H those tool marks are all part of the package. The pitting isn't unusual either and is very common especially among pistols that have been stored in a holster for long periods. It's nice to get a gun with an original holster, but I have found that the probability of pitting in such cases increases greatly. You see it most often at the muzzle (where there was probably wear to the bluing to begin with) and along the top of the slide, all contact points with the holster. Rust or pitting towards the slide serrations seems to me to be caused by contact with the hand in racking the slide. Cleaning out those serrations with a stiff nylon brush (avoid steel and brass bristles) and gun oil can do wonders

If an area of pitting is well blued you would have to consider the possibility that the gun has been re-blued, which hurts value. Others may disagree, but from what I'm seeing in the photo of the muzzle end of the slide, it looks to be the original finish, or, re-blued so long ago so as to be irrelevant. I would strongly resist any urges to touch up the gun.

It sounds like that on your fiancee's watch the gun will be well taken cared of. You might want to watch how much oil stays on those grips as I in a few instances I have seen older plastic/Bakelite grips react in a weird and nasty way to modern gun oils. Absolutely do not use any spray cleaners or solvents with those grips anywhere near the gun as more often than not you will be left with a crumbling mess. If that was my gun I would restrict cleaning to good old Hoppes No.9. In general, be careful not to over-tighten grips screws as older grips can crack.
 
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Storm, Thanks for the info on the grips. I did not know that some solvents and oils could damage them.

I use only Hoppes no.9 and CLR Break Free. The red in the slide serrations is actually a type of gun grease that she loves (I forget the name). I think she likes it because it is red, but it seems to work on storing gun for a long time. It comes in a syringe type applicator.
 
I did not know that some solvents and oils could damage them.
Click to expand...

I'd be far more concerned about the aerosol gun solvents like Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber. It's great stuff but can melt grips. I'd even be cautious with those sold as "polymer safe" as the plastics of that period are nowhere near the plastics of today. As to oil, I have seen clean rags come away black when some oils were applied to older grips. It was obvious to me that there was some level of material loss going on. Some older plastics begin to break down after time. If I was going to try anything on older grips I would possibly experiment with some of the citrus based cleaners.
 
I use "Ballistol" spray - it removes very well powder residue and it is good for removing lead and copper build-up. This is a gun oil made from natural products - it is a weaker solvent compared to Hope's N9, but I have used it with no problems on old guns with bakelite grips. It is not so aggresive as modern solvents, but it has prooved itself for over 100 years of use.

Boris
 
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