Antique Mall Find - Arisaka

[WalterB]

Thanks to the sharp eyes of Jeremiah on a trip to an antique mall in my area, he found the following rifle and bayonet in a corner, along with, I believe, a British Enfield and a Russian Mosin Nagant. Jeremiah was kind enough to pass me the tip since he thought the rifle would look good with the Japanese / USMC stuff that I have. I owe him one.

Now, I don't know very much about Japanese rifles but I did a little basic research. To the extent you guys have any information, I would appreciate it if you could share it with me. This rifle is not, of course, as rare and special a piece as Bill Grist's wonderful sniper Type 99 that he shared with us not too long ago, but I like this one since it is in pretty good shape, has no visible corrosion and it cost me, after tax, about $400. I don't know what the market price is for these type of rifles, but I don't think its too bad for a WWII vet-bring back trophy.

Below is the first picture that shows this Arisaka Type 99 rifle:

[WalterB]

This is a closer picture of the receiver, which shows the Mon (Chrisanthemum) intact. From the little research that I have done, I believe that the Japanese surrendered their rifles after the war with the Mon grounded off since it was a symbol of the Emperor (I guess as a face-saving gesture). The fact that this rifle still has the Mon indicates that it was a vet bring back during the war (i.e., captured).

[WalterB]

Another picture of the receiver, this time including the adjustable sight.

[WalterB]

This close-up shows the serial number and the arsenal mark. Again, from basic research, I believe that the arsenal mark is from the Kokura Arsenal (the three converging circles) and the Series is Series No. 24 (the symbol at the far left). I found out that the Kokura Arsenal's Series No. 24 produced 100,000 Type 99 rifles, numbererd 0 through 99,999. Mine was produced towards the end of such series.

[WalterB]

This is a close-up of the business end of the rifle. As mentioned, the rifle came with the bayonet. The serial number of the bayonet does not match the serial number of the rifle (and, as I understand, no such matching was the case when the rifle and the bayonet were issued to the Japanese soldiers). The bayonet on this rifle is a Type 30 bayonet with a hooked crossguard. I believe the hook in the crossguard was designed to snag an opponent's bayonet during combat.

[WalterB]

Here is a closer picture of the manufacturer's mark of the bayonet. Sorry for the bad pictures, I am terrible with my camera

[WalterB]

This last picture is of the rifle with the bayonet fixed and drawn. Any corrections on the information I posted and/or additional information would be appreciated. I hope you enjoyed it.

[petermac]

I don't know much about Arisakas but the bayonet is nice. It's a mid-war production from Jinsen Arsenal and its quite scarce. Did it come with a scabbard? If it did this should be blued sheet steel with a pressed steel frog fitting and a 'tubular' finial.

Peter

[Luftm40]

I think I spy the scabbard laying on the table in pic 7

[petermac]

Andy, You're right. It's in both No5 and No7, I should have looked more closely.

Peter

I think I spy the scabbard laying on the table in pic 7

[bodes]

Walter, I don't see any where in your description whether/not the bolt serial # matches the receiver?.....This of course is important that all serial #'s match.....As for the "mum", this is a good indication it's a battlefield "pick-up" of course.....The only potential "red flag" is it appears stock has been lightly sanded and a coat of Varnish or Tru-Oil added.....This of course will hurt the value somewhat....IF that's the case, I'd say $400 is on the high end for value.....Bodes

btw....I agree, it looks like the bayonet is a nice one...