Third Party Press

Fake? Camo Gewehr 98

zperkey2003

zperkey2003

Well-known member
This came up on a well known auction site. Supposedly the stock was painted camo in the field though I find that hard to believe. Wasn’t it punishable to customize your rifle in any way? I know the British were pretty strict about that sorta thing, figured the Germans would be as well. Crazy starting bid of 5,000 as well. My guess is this was done after the fact. What do you guys think?
 

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Yeah, It looks more like a Battlefield 1 fantasy piece. The presence of anything but a period photo clearly showing German soldiers using them leads me to say that I don't believe it to be authentic. To the earlier point, plenty of people were painting things because everyone wanted a souvenir.

I find the estimate to be pretty laughable.
 
The thing that makes me assume it's a fake is the clean barrel bands. I could almost buy someone splashing some paint on their gun in the field. But to get it looking like that you would have to de-stock the rifle and paint the wood off the gun, and that's not something I could see anyone bothering with in field conditions. If anything I'd take it a lot more seriously if it just looked like someone slathered on a few passes whatever milspec earth tone / gray / etc primer was used on large equipment with a rag or large brush. Yeah, I'd take it with a huge pinch of salt, but I'd at least entertain the idea.
 
chrisftk said:
Yeah, It looks more like a Battlefield 1 fantasy piece. The presence of anything but a period photo clearly showing German soldiers using them leads me to say that I don't believe it to be authentic. To the earlier point, plenty of people were painting things because everyone wanted a souvenir.

I find the estimate to be pretty laughable.
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I was thinking about that when I saw it. I specifically remember having that skin on my gewehr 98 in battlefield one. 😂
 
Warrior1354 said:
I have a feeling. Who ever did this. Got the idea from this well known photograph, of a camouflage WW1 1903 sniper rifle. But, that is a 1903 not a Gewehr 98.
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Not trying to be mean Jordan but that photo maybe well known now, but it wasn't back then. The camouflage on the Gewehr 98 is called Lozenge camouflage. The Germans called Buntfarbenaufdruck (multi-colored print). It started being used in late 1916. The camouflage on the Springfield 03 is called dazzle. Dazzle camouflage already made its appearance on the battlefield by the time that photo was taken in May 1918. Dazzle camouflage was invented by british artist Norman Wilkinson in 1917 and is still used by militaries today.
 
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MichaelWC said:
Not trying to be mean Jordan but that photo maybe well known now, but it wasn't back then. The camouflage on the Gewehr 98 and that Springfield 03 is called dazzle. Dazzle camouflage already made its appearance on the battlefield by the time that photo was taken in May 1918. Dazzle camouflage was invented by british artist Norman Wilkinson in 1917 and is still used by militaries today.
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I understand that. But, that photo has been put in 1903 springfield collecter books probably for the last 40 plus years. The Bruce Canfield book dated 2004 is one of them. It's also in the Col. Brophy 1903 springfield book from 1985. So this could have been done to this rifle in 1918, or the 1920s, the 1980s, and the 2000s.

My opinion on this rifle, is fantasy piece. Especially with the opening bid of $5000.
 
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It is fake AF. Wrong geometric pattern, wrong colors, etc. You are correct, the soldier who “did this” would have been fined, beaten, forced to write an apology letter or maybe a combination. If such a thing were done, there would be period photos like every other piece of German camouflaged equipment.
 
mauser1908 said:
It is fake AF. Wrong geometric pattern, wrong colors, etc. You are correct, the soldier who “did this” would have been fined, beaten, forced to write an apology letter or maybe a combination. If such a thing were done, there would be period photos like every other piece of German camouflaged equipment.
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Or worse sent to a German punishment battalion.

Still, I'm curious what the final selling price was.
 
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I bet a museum painting conservator can determine its authenticity. The guys who do restoration can distinguish between brush strokes of a master and that of a forger. In this case though I'm thinking of the composition of the paint.
 
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