K98 S/137 1937 all matching H marked etc

[nzef1940]

Hello all

Would apprecate an estimate of value on this rifle as am about to insure my firearms and have lost touch with K98 values. its S/147 not s/137 sorry...

Its a vet bought back k98 from Nth Africa, even all the screws match, note the expert period done stock repair, this is my favourite rifle as its a real talker. Has a very good bore and no rust etc, stock also matches rifle serial no.

thanks in advance.

[nzef1940]

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[nzef1940]

H mark and Waa stamp (difficult to read)

[nzef1940]

stock repair

[nzef1940]

last pic

[bodes]

Sir, First of all, Nice rifle.....My only question is whether or not the 'H' band has been cold blued?.....Almost appears less worn and having more finish than the other band....Generally these are worn fairly evenly.....Other than that, I'd say in the $750-1,000 due to it's worn condition.....Bodes

[stahlhelm1976]

I agree with bodes, nice rifle. It has that "been there" look to it and I love the dovetail repair at the butt.

I think that it might be worth a little more. Value is always a tough one as it depends on the collector. Some like mint, unissued looking rifles and others will pay a premium for the beat up look a rifle gets from combat use. In case you couldn't tell, I am one of the latter!

[phild]

Other than the first photo, I can find no other photos of the H band. It is impossible for me to draw any conclusions on the H band's blue.finish from that photo. My guess is that it is original finish as IMO the rest of the blue looks pretty good and original. At any rate, cold blue....esp. on one small part, can be easily removed and not damage original blue underneath.

As to price, I quit buying these about 20 years ago when I felt they had gotten crazy!!! I have not seen a pre-war 98k this nice in several years (5-10) sell for under 1k from a dealer. I've know of a couple right now in the $1500 range....they are not flying from the dealer's rack, but he is not discounting them either.

These pre-war 98k's are sort of sleepers IMO. They are very much harder to find that mid and late war 98ks and these were there for the whole show!

[James Purnell]

Until recently I owned a matching 37 dated Sauer in the first block like yours that was 500 numbers above your rifle. My serial was 8087. I have no idea what your 98k market is like, but in the US the rifle would bring at least 900-1200 dollars, with the possiblilty of more if the buyer wanted the code bad enough. I like the stock repair and have a similar repair on a G date.

Jim

[nzef1940]

Hi Guys

Thanks very much for your help it is appreciated, I also love the dove tail repair, makes you wonder what caused the damage and as i said its a real talker, probably carried through Poland and France prior to North Africa.

Have added a pic of the bands.

regards

Mike