Hand Engraved & Gold Inlaid Nazi WWII Mauser P38 9mm Semi Auto Pistol C&R OK
SOLD FOR: $3,020
Make: Mauser
Model: P38
Serial Number: 6597d
Year of Manufacture: 1942-1943 (From d series serial number)
Caliber: 9mm Parabellum
Action Type: Traditional Double Action Semi-Automatic (DA/SA) with Decocker and Removable Magazine
Markings: The left side of frame is marked “6597d” and with a “WaA135” Waffenamt. The left barrel flat is marked with a “WaA135” Waffenamt and the right side with two inspection marks. The barrel flat at the front of the receiver is marked “6597 / d”. The bottom of the barrel stop is marked “597 / d” and “3”. The right side of the lug on the stop is marked with an Eagle over “WaA135” Waffenamt and the left side of the lug is marked with an Eagle holding a Globe with swastika. The back of the bolt on the left side is also marked with an Eagle holding a Globe with swastika. The bottom of the trigger guard is engraved with “HLS” in large gold plated letters.
Barrel Length: 4.9”
Sights / Optics: The pistol is mounted with a flat topped “U” notched rear sight dovetailed into the slide and a Patridge style blade front sight dovetailed into banded base on the barrel. The left side of the blade is marked “2”.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are two piece smooth black plastic with a reddish tint that have a thumbrest on the left side. The grips enclose the backstrap. The grips show light handling marks with a few minor scrapes in the finish on the right side. The grips rate in about Fine overall condition.
Type of Finish: The pistol has a bright blue finish. The sides of the slide and the top of the barrel have been heavily hand engraved in a scroll pattern. The left side features an “SS” emblem on a shield and an Eagle holding a swastika on a shield, both gold plated. The right side also features a gold plated eagle holding a swastika and gold plated cross with crossed swords with a swastika in the center. The hammer, safety, takedown lever, trigger and slide release are all gold plated.
Finish Originality: The finish is not original.
Bore Condition: The bore is bright and the rifling is sharp. There is no erosion.
Overall Condition: This pistol retains about 95% of its current metal finish. There are no marks in the finish that we could find, but there are one or two small marks under the finish in the barrel and on the front strap. The right side of the frame just below the slide shows tooling marks under the finish typical of wartime builds. There is surface loss on the hammer, trigger, safety, slide release and takedown lever where the gold plating has worn off. The serrations on the slide, hammer, magazine release, safety and takedown lever are sharp. The grip screw shows marks of a screwdriver. The slide markings have been ground off and the serial number on the left side of the frame is shallow. The sides of the slide and the top of the barrel are heavily engraved with golden plated Nazi symbols on both sides of the slide. Overall, this pistol rates in about Fine condition as refinished.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The single action trigger pull is crisp. The slide is tight to the frame with a small amount of play. We did not fire this pistol.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This pistol comes with a blued 8-round magazine that appears refinished. The left side is marked “P.38v / U”. The magazine shows minimal wear and is in about Excellent condition.
Our Assessment: The P38 occupies a significant place in history. It was the first locked breech pistol to have a double action/single action trigger. After the start of WWII, Walther could not keep up with the production required, and production was ordered to commence at both Mauser and Spreewerke in 1940. By the end of the war, Walther had only produced about 580,000 of the 1.2 million produced. This pistol is one of four we received from the same consignor that was hand engraved in the late 1960s by Hans Reichart for Harvey Strong, whose initials “HLS” are on the underside of the trigger guard in gold plated letters. This Mauser built P38 is in Fine condition as refinished. It doesn’t show any handling marks but the gold plating on the hammer, trigger, slide release, safety and slide release shows thinning. The sides of the slide and the top of the barrel are heavily engraved with golden plated Nazi symbols on both sides of the slide. This pistol is really beautiful, so please see our pictures. The frame, slide, barrel and barrel stop all have matching serial numbers, but unfortunately the serial number and date code on the left side of the slide were removed when the pistol was engraved. The bore is bright with sharp rifling. This is a great find for the collector of WWII or German military pistols. In all appearances, it looks like a presentation pistol to a high ranking Nazi officer. What better pistol could you find to highlight your collection of German military pistols?
