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P-38 value.

BlownCobra
I will post some pics as soon as I can shoot some. My mom has Alzheimer and I am trying to sell some of the things I got after my dad dies to help pay for her care. My dad's brother bought back a couple of P-38's from WW2. He gave one to my dad. I have a buddy who speaks German and I got the holster out the other night to write down the print inside the holster. I have to get a magnifying glass. What I did find suprised me. It is stamped 1916. The pistol itself is in excellent condition. The serial number is 1717 and matches. It has the Eagle with the cross stamped all over it.

I will post a few pics in a day or so.

Did they make a P-38 in 1916? Could this pistol have more worth being a low serial number and maybe WW1?
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by BlownCobra
    Did they make a P-38 in 1916? Could this pistol have more worth being a low serial number and maybe WW1?

    I believe the gun was called a "P-38" because it was designed in 1938.

    No way could the gun be from 1916 or even WWI-era.

    Early serial number gun may have a little premium to collectors, though.
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  • rufe-snow
    Three different manufacturers made the P 38 during the war. The Germans didn't use sequential serials numbers though. After every 10,000 guns they started over with number #1 with a lower case letter as a identifier. Because of this their maybe 10 or more P 38's with the same numerical serial number.
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  • gary wray
    BlownCobra...sounds like you have a P-38 stuck into a Luger holster. Happens a lot. The P-38 was accepted by the German military in 1938 and was made to replace the much more expensive to make Luger. Go over the holster carefully on the outside looking for makers marks and dates. The "eagle over the cross" is actually the German military acceptance stamp. Take as many photos as you can and make them as closeup as you can and we will be able to tell you better what you have. There are some rarer P-38's but generally the pistol is not that rare as over 1.2m were made. We can tell you more when we see the photos. Thanks
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  • 62fuelie
    Quick way to spot a Luger holster is the retainer in the flap for the multi-purpose tool - the P-38 didn't have one. If it is a wartime P-38 there should be a manufacturer's code on the pistol, i.e. "ac" for Walther "byf" for Mauser. The sequence marker on the serial number is a lower case German letter "a" for first series "b" for second series with the series running from 0001 thru 9999. these plus the year of production serve to date the pistol. As the war went on the exterior finish got progressivly poorer and, I've heard but not seen, the loaded chamber indcator was deleted in late models to speed production.
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  • rsnyder55
    They way he stated the S/N, perhaps they are P-08's
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