My Gewehr G98/40 (Mannlicher S42)

[NickG]

My Gewehr G98/40 (Mannlicher S42). German contract (and adopted in 1943 by the Hungarians as M43 with a different bayonet lug to accomodate a Hungarian bayonet)

Mine is text book German contract from 1942 and these were made between 1941 and 1944 for the Wehrmacht using a German mauser cartridge and German bayonet, but made in Budapest with maker code "jhv". and ""42" marked (not S42 that's a typo...)
I was told a very rare foreign contract German rifle.
The bolt has no number and bottom plate has a different number but it is unit #7907

[NickG]

Some detail shots and the complete rifle seen from both sides...
What is this rifle worth?

[NickG]

Some internet comments I found...1942 was a pretty limited production run (and 1944 even smaller...arsenal switching to Hungarian standard M43's)
The unique 2 piece stock clearly visible in these images.
______________________________
Collector's Comments and Feedback:

1. Production numbers of G98/40 rifles by year, according to best available sources, are as follows:

Manufacturing data:

1941: 33000
1942: 32000
1943: 59000
1944: 14400
Total: 138400

At some point in 1943, the WaA inspection number used on these rifles switched from WaA56 to WaA173. But mine is 1942 with WaA56 on metal parts and the wooden stock marked WaA172, perhaps a late '42!

G98/40 infantry rifles are among the rarest Third Reich infantry rifles a collector is likely to encounter and should be recognized and purchased at any opportunity, if possible. Available numbers of examples today indicate that either very few rifles survived the war, or the countries who may still have them aren't releasing them for sale at this time.

Little more is known about the G98/40 series rifles as the region fell under the communist sphere of influence during the Cold War and much documentation was lost. Hungary's modern-day gun laws are very restrictive and civilian interest in firearms is not strongly encouraged. As such, locating material by "local Hungarian experts" is difficult or even unlikely. .......... (Feedback by "Claven2")

[kapitein]

Never heard of this rifle , cool find!

[NickG]

Never heard of this rifle , cool find!

Thanks I had not heard of this type German rifle before either...(until one was offered to me)
Only the G33/40 mountain carbine which I also own. The G98/40 is scarce!

Out of every 10 MP44's built only 6 G98/40's were made and issued so it is rarer than the famous MP44 and little known as few made it out of the East before the Cold War broke out...
I am surprised this thread got so little input as I don't recall ever seeing another G98/40 featured on WAF. That alone tells me it is a very rare Wehrmacht rifle!

NickG

[fusilier1944]

A friend of mine inherited one from his grandfather, a ww2 vet & collector. My friend used to bring it to ww2 re-enactments until someone set him straight on he he was so casually running around in the woods with.

These are rare but come up for sale often enough. There are 3 on gunbroker right now. Years 41, 42, & 44. Ranging from $2300 to $3600. But if you do a search on auctions that ended, these have been being repeatedly relisted because they are unsold. There was one recently sold there for about $1000, but that auction stunk of shill bidding. YMMV.

[NickG]

A friend of mine inherited one from his grandfather, a ww2 vet & collector. My friend used to bring it to ww2 re-enactments until someone set him straight on he he was so casually running around in the woods with.

These are rare but come up for sale often enough. There are 3 on gunbroker right now. Years 41, 42, & 44. Ranging from $2300 to $3600. But if you do a search on auctions that ended, these have been being repeatedly relisted because they are unsold. There was one recently sold there for about $1000, but that auction stunk of shill bidding. YMMV.

Thanks! I got $1200 in mine as it had parts missing...but now completed and presentable! I would not sell it for under $3K

[Lilli]

Thank you for sharing pictures. The stock is in incredible condition.

[HAF]

Thanks! I got $1200 in mine as it had parts missing...but now completed and presentable! I would not sell it for under $3K

good luck with 3k $ ,its a parts rifle ,rare yes ,but not so beloved by collectors at all,here in Eu no one want them, K98k is the one to go here ,but US markt may be a bit different

[Willi Z.]

Correct, it is not worth anything close to that in the US either. It is a mismatched put together rifle.

Perhaps a stone mint matching one might approach that number.

[Kripo73]

Sure, when you personally own something, the price automatically goes up...seriously though, I completely agree. I’ve been collecting military weapons for the last 20 years. These Hungarian auxiliary rifles weren’t popular then and they still aren’t, even when the K98’s began to be priced out of common hands. The price is often in the eye of the beholder but 3K is a nice dream.....I dare not ask what the good stuff is valued at ......

[phild]

There is for sure a certain dumbing down and follow the herd mentality that is inherent with most all forms of collecting. With over 11 million k98k produced compared to around 30 thousand “G29O” LW gew just to bring up one of many examples, it is interesting to meet about 9 out of 10 k98k collectors say 30 years ago that had no idea these even existed much less what they were. This worked well for me! Also interesting that the current value although higher for the 29o is far lower than their relative scarcity. Much the same can be said of the 98/40.

[cossack1648]

There were 11 million K98k made, but they are not equal. Rare codes and years are much more expensive than more common ones. Very early and very late ones are more desirable. 1940, 1941, 1942 years of any code are scarcer since most were lost on the Eastern front regardless of numbers produced.
Also any, even smallest mismatched or armorer replaced part cuts the price of most weapons by half. Same goes with any alterations like cleaning, messing around or in particular sanding of the stock, even a little.
Yes, there were millions of K98k's made, but only a fraction survived untouched in original factory condition and they are sought after. All mismatches, refinished and Russian captures are only shooters for most collectors.

Jack

[phild]

There were 11 million K98k made, but they are not equal. Rare codes and years are much more expensive than more common ones. Very early and very late ones are more desirable. 1940, 1941, 1942 years of any code are scarcer since most were lost on the Eastern front regardless of numbers produced.
Also any, even smallest mismatched or armorer replaced part cuts the price of most weapons by half. Same goes with any alterations like cleaning, messing around or in particular sanding of the stock, even a little.
Yes, there were millions of K98k's made, but only a fraction survived untouched in original factory condition and they are sought after. All mismatches, refinished and Russian captures are only shooters for most collectors.

Jack

That is true but exactly the same thing can be said about the other then 98k rifles used by the Germans. The difference is rifles like the 98/40 were made in far less numbers to start with and still had the same or even higher attrition rate as most Hungarian, Polish and CZ made for Germans rifles went to the East.

[cossack1648]

That is true but exactly the same thing can be said about the other then 98k rifles used by the Germans. The difference is rifles like the 98/40 were made in far less numbers to start with and still had the same or even higher attrition rate as most Hungarian, Polish and CZ made for Germans rifles went to the East.

Collector item prices are determined by what collectors desire, then by scarcity. There are items that are not that rare, but expensive because they are desirable. SS items are a good example. On the other hand there are rare items that not too many collectors collect and as a result their prices don't reflect scarcity.

My point about K98's was that they are a collecting genre by themselves in the weapon collecting world, because of the huge amount of variations and code/year combinations. They are more widely collected and they are more desirable than other foreign made rifles used by Germans. I can't say why, but that's the way it is and prices show that.

Jack