Newly Acquired P38

[GatorDoc]

Hey guys,
I am fairly new to the WWII collecting but here is a P38 with holster and two magazines I recently picked up from a vets son. The son did not really know much about it except he it had always been around while he was growing up. Appears fairly clean with good finish. There is a little fine pitting on the right side of the slide. All the numbers match and the barrel is nice and shiny inside. The holster is marked ? VOTAW and the initials HDV. Not sure if that is German or American markings. I blocked out the last two numbers of the serial number. It is 96XX. I would be interested in comments as most of this is new to me.
Thanks in advance,
J
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[Geof]

What are the three letters above the 1944 date? That will be the holster manufacturer code.

Votaw will probably be the surname of the Vet, so H.D.Votaw. The pistol is a 1944 Walther manufactured item.

[GatorDoc]

Hello Geof,
I am having a hard time making it out. It is either jln or jlh.
Do the magazines look correct as well?
Thanks,
J

[Wilhelm]

The mags are good P38 mags. One looks to be 135 marked, Mauser made. What is the stamp on the other spine? Mags were switched out during the war. Walther code was 359. Nice looking rig.

[GatorDoc]

The other is 359. Interestingly both stamps appear to be upside down in relation to the magazine and its P38 stamp.

[Wilhelm]

This happened a lot I believe. I too have one, eagle over WaA 135.

[Geof]

Hello Geof,
I am having a hard time making it out. It is either jln or jlh.
Do the magazines look correct as well?
Thanks,
J

It will be jln, for Deutsche Lederwerkstätten GMBH, in Pirmasens, Martgaretenstr 3. I see there's still a leather manufacturer at that address today (WIKULE Kunst- und Lederverarbeitung)

[Mauser HSc]

A very nice ac 44 (made by Walther in 1944) pistol with original mags and holster. Great rig!!! Congratulations!!!

[paddywonka]

A nice 44 Walther in a 44 holster. You did good!

[Matt Weber]

Nice looking rig! As someone mentioned, one of the mags is a Mauser mag, "eagle/135". But it would be easy to find another Walther mag for it.

Good find,
Matt

[GatorDoc]

Thanks for the info guys. This one might make up for some of the other junk I have brought home.

[Douglas Jr.]

Nice rig, a keeper in my book.
You did fine for someone who is new to the WWII collecting hobby.

[Crusader17]

Nice one. Some folks look for a long time to find a set like this.

[vitts]

Both mags are pretty easy to find the WALTHER e/359 and the Mauser e/135 you can always trade for a e/359

[Blacksmith Life]

Hi J - congrats on a sterling example.

I personally wouldn't worry about the magazine. As long as they're original period magazines, they're "correct" - irrespective of manufacturer.

You mention that it's a numbers-matching gun - did you disassemble it to check the number on the locking block? That number is not visible with it assembled. There are detailed videos on YouTube, if you've not done it before. Or, you can take it to a competent gunsmith / P38 collector. It's not brain surgery, but they are a little quirky.

Lastly, may be worth asking the Veteran's son if he has any paperwork related to the gun. It's a long shot, but may dig through his Dad's papers and find the bring-back document that's numbered to the gun. That can enhance value.