1944 German Karabiner 98k

Description

Subject: Technical Evaluation & Market Assessment of Offered German K98k Service Rifle

1. Identification & Provenance
Model: Karabiner 98k (K98k) bolt-action service rifle.

Caliber: 8x57mm IS (8mm Mauser).

Manufacturer Code: dot stamped cleanly on the top receiver ring (image3.jpeg), designating production by Waffenwerke Brunn (located at the former Czechoslovakian arms factory in Brno under German wartime occupation).

Production Year: 1944 (image3.jpeg), placing it firmly in the late-war production period of the Third Reich.

Sidewall Markings: Clearly roll-stamped Mod. 98 on the receiver wall (image2.jpeg).

Serial Number & Inspector Proofs: Serial number 3591 is stamped across the barrel shank, barrel band, and floorplate assembly (image1.jpeg, image5.jpeg, image6.jpeg). Crisp, characteristic small German Waffenamt inspection stamps (such as WaA63 on the receiver ring and WaA135 on trigger group components) remain sharp and unpolished.

2. Material & Condition Assessment
Receiver & Metal Finish: The metal exhibits an honest, factory-original wartime blued and parkerized finish with expected minor edge wear, freckling, and patination consistent with active European theater service. The receiver machining lines are clean, reflecting standard Brunn quality control despite late-war pressures.

Stock & Furniture: Fitted into a sturdy laminated beech/plywood stock—a mandatory wartime adaptation introduced to prevent timber warping and handle the stresses of harsh fronts. The wood displays authentic field dings, storage bumps, and handling marks from military use, but remains structurally sound, uncracked, and fitted with its original cupped steel buttplate.

Accompanying Accoutrements: The piece comes with a correct WWII-era bayonet and scabbard (image0.jpeg), plus a serviceable leather military sling, completing an authentic combat-rig presentation.

3. Expert Verdict & Valuation
As a wartime surplus asset, Waffenwerke Brunn’s dot 1944 production rifles are deeply sought after by collectors for their robust build quality and historical footprint as part of the occupied Czech industrial mobilization.

Given the legible receiver codes, matching serial elements (3591), correct late-war laminated furniture, and the inclusion of the bayonet and sling, this rifle represents a solid, unfiddled collector-grade military firearm.

Estimated Market Value (Rifle Only): $950 – $1,350 (depending on bolt-to-receiver serial matching and bore condition).

Complete Package Value (with Bayonet & Sling): $1,150 – $1,500 on the current private-party / collector market.

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I appreciate your interest, and I also have other C&R weapons available.

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