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1903 MAUSER ERFURT serial# 96 Gew. 98. All matching part numbers R96 except cleaning rod #90 UPDATE traded with a forum member my #90 for a #96

J

john mcmaster

Member
A few days ago I attended an auction made up of items from an old country estate. Mixed in with old furniture and pictures was a old military rifle that was so covered with attic grime and dirt that i could not read the numbers in the poor light of the auction house. I purchased the rifle with a high bid of $170.00 plus 15% auction fee (no state tax). After cleaning with WD40 and a brass gun brush I could read the following. Top of chamber has a crown stamp with ERFURT 1903 under it. The left side of the chamber has an eagle stamp with 96 on it. All other parts are numbered 96 as well with the exception of the cleaning rod which is 90. The bore and rifling look good. I have a few question:
Could 96 the serial number? If so would this be the only one of this type with serial number 96 or did they reach a certain number and start over again?
What is the caliber?
How rare is this gun and what would be its estimated value? Mauser1.jpg20240922_175157.jpg20240925_152943.jpg20240911_171444.jpg20240921_102107.jpg20240921_102251.jpg20240921_102525.jpg20240921_104038.jpgMauser3.jpg20240921_101635.jpg20240922_175306.jpg20240922_175350.jpg20240921_104240.jpg20240921_113351.jpg20241114_122910.jpg
 
You flat out stole that rifle. Very nice early piece. 96 is the serial number, also notice the tiny “g” beneath. These were produced in blocks of 10k. First block, no letter. Then next 10k followed by “a” then “b” and so on. Please do not clean this with a heavy hand. Simply wipe down the stock.
If rust is present on the metal, use brass or bronze wool with light oil. Never sandpaper!
Looks to be in very nice condition.
 
Very nice find! As mentioned above, the letter suffix is key, there would be a number 96 in every letter block. The caliber is 8mm Mauser.
Value is always a little iffy on these, and most people are hesitant to guess, but you did very very well at $170 plus %15.
 
biggymu said:
You flat out stole that rifle. Very nice early piece. 96 is the serial number, also notice the tiny “g” beneath. These were produced in blocks of 10k. First block, no letter. Then next 10k followed by “a” then “b” and so on. Please do not clean this with a heavy hand. Simply wipe down the stock.
If rust is present on the metal, use brass or bronze wool with light oil. Never sandpaper!
Looks to be in very nice condition.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the info. John M
 
biggymu said:
You flat out stole that rifle. Very nice early piece. 96 is the serial number, also notice the tiny “g” beneath. These were produced in blocks of 10k. First block, no letter. Then next 10k followed by “a” then “b” and so on. Please do not clean this with a heavy hand. Simply wipe down the stock.
If rust is present on the metal, use brass or bronze wool with light oil. Never sandpaper!
Looks to be in very nice condition.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the info. John M.
 
PrayingMantis said:
Very nice find! As mentioned above, the letter suffix is key, there would be a number 96 in every letter block. The caliber is 8mm Mauser.
Value is always a little iffy on these, and most people are hesitant to guess, but you did very very well at $170 plus %15.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the info. John M
 
30thguy said:
Great buy. Nice to find them like that rusty and dusty
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Funny part is - It is not really rusty or pitted - It is more like the metal is stained from the attic grime. I think if it was cleaned by someone who knows how to do it correctly, (not my WD-40 and quick brass brush) it would look a lot better.
 
That's a fantastic find, wish I could find estate sales like that! Pre-war Gewehr 98s are quite difficult to find in original, matching configuration so you absolutely stole this one. If you could take some additional pictures of the bolt markings and buttplate, that would be much appreciated! The letter suffix in your picture appears to be "g". The disk on the stock is unit marked and identifies this rifle to the 13th Pioneer battalion, 1st company, 31st weapon in the company. Congrats on a wonderful Gewehr 98!
 
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AN-94 said:
That's a fantastic find, wish I could find estate sales like that! Pre-war Gewehr 98s are quite difficult to find in original, matching configuration so you absolutely stole this one. If you could take some additional pictures of the bolt markings and buttplate, that would be much appreciated! The letter suffix in your picture appears to be "g". The disk on the stock is unit marked and identifies this rifle to the 13th Pioneer battalion, 1st company, 31st weapon in the company. Congrats on a wonderful Gewehr 98!
Click to expand...
`Thank you - I will take more pictures but my son knows how to post them and he lives out of state but I will do it as soon as possible. A quick look at the buttplate (which I did not clean) does not seem to show any markings and the 2 screws are not numbered like the ones on the rest of the gun The buttplate and screws show the most use and I am sure they are original to the gun.
 
john mcmaster said:
`Thank you - I will take more pictures but my son knows how to post them and he lives out of state but I will do it as soon as possible. A quick look at the buttplate (which I did not clean) does not seem to show any markings and the 2 screws are not numbered like the ones on the rest of the gun The buttplate and screws show the most use and I am sure they are original to the gun.
Click to expand...
Typically the buttplate is serialized to the rifle, right below the bottom screw. The screws themselves won't be numbered but any additional markings on the buttplate would give insight if the rifle underwent any depot work.
 
I agree this is a rare rifle in this state, but is more rare than the suffix (g) suggests... usually a g-suffix suggests a-g were made... that is probably not the case this early.

Running short on time but Erfurt made far less early on than the suffix suggests - 1902 only d&e are known generally; 1903 f&g are known in number; this suggest progression without roll over in the early production.

**Caveat, at the same time this occurred 1st block and sometimes a-b are seen; it is not entirely clear how this process worked but is consistent with all the Prussian Arsenals too.

I can go further into this but this is a subject few know about and further still few understand what actually occurred, but you own a very rare rifle... $200 was an incredible steal!
 
Loewe said:
I agree this is a rare rifle in this state, but is more rare than the suffix (g) suggests... usually a g-suffix suggests a-g were made... that is probably not the case this early.

Running short on time but Erfurt made far less early on than the suffix suggests - 1902 only d&e are known generally; 1903 f&g are known in number; this suggest progression without roll over in the early production.

**Caveat, at the same time this occurred 1st block and sometimes a-b are seen; it is not entirely clear how this process worked but is consistent with all the Prussian Arsenals too.

I can go further into this but this is a subject few know about and further still few understand what actually occurred, but you own a very rare rifle... $200 was an incredible steal!
Click to expand...
Thanks Paul. At least they used suffixes, I suppose! The worst arsenal practice regarding serialization I can recall was the lack of suffixes on the 71 & 71/84s..

Here's a more detailed account you did about 10 years ago on another g-block.
www.k98kforum.com

Erfurt 1903, Gew98

I have a please to researchers of numbers, is possible to estimate the Erfurt Gew98 production 1899-1918? Any rough numbers would be great, thanks. As i need some info to a exhibition to 100 year of WW1 in local museum , there would be posted a Gew98 of 1903 Erfurt production, with missed parts...
www.k98kforum.com www.k98kforum.com
 
Wow, this is an excellent attic find. You've done well with your conservative cleaning method. I would go no further. It looks EXCELLENT as-is, and is as original as it gets. The receiver condition isn't necessarily staining, but patina. Since the receiver and bolt were left without a finish, "in the white", over time this kind of patina is normal. The best guns look like this. Over the decades collectors have wire-wheeled or polished receivers and bolts and this is generally frowned upon.

Given other feedback, my hunch is that it may be all-original to build. Not sure if this would have narrow gas vent holes on the bolt or not? A photo would help. Shouldn't this rifle have a 200M rear sight base too? Perhaps a depot rebarrel...? I wonder too if the firing pin has been clipped at the tip. A rifle like this could be as much as 10x what you paid to the right person. Your post is like a collector's wet dream. It's hard to go wrong on anything German for less than $400 these days, unless it's sporterized.
 
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Loewe said:
I agree this is a rare rifle in this state, but is more rare than the suffix (g) suggests... usually a g-suffix suggests a-g were made... that is probably not the case this early.

Running short on time but Erfurt made far less early on than the suffix suggests - 1902 only d&e are known generally; 1903 f&g are known in number; this suggest progression without roll over in the early production.

**Caveat, at the same time this occurred 1st block and sometimes a-b are seen; it is not entirely clear how this process worked but is consistent with all the Prussian Arsenals too.

I can go further into this but this is a subject few know about and further still few understand what actually occurred, but you own a very rare rifle... $200 was an incredible steal!
Click to expand...
Thank you very much - John M.
 
Thank you- If they replaced the barrel, they re-stamped the "96" serial number on it ? ( see barrel to left of serial number and eagle in photo)
 
Barrel replacements were not unusual, and many early Gews will have non original barrels with the same serial number, albeit with different fireproofs and font. This barrel is original though, judging from the photo of the barrel acceptance and fireproof. 1903 was the transitional year, so you see both 200m and 400m sights on 1903 dated Gews.
 
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