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1915 Erfert kar98a price?

L

Lincoln Waffle

Member
Hi, a few months back I bought a 1915 Erfurt kar98a in very good condition and all numbers matching for 700 dollars. It comes with what I was told was the original sling, which is very dry and cracking. Bore is shiny and crown is intact. The wood has some dings and a chip, but nothing major is wrong with the rifle. Just curious what this rifle is worth. I have pictures, but they were too large to post in the thread, I couldn't find a way to shrink them on my phone.

Thank you.
 
Here are the pictures I took when I first bought it. I'm away from home right now otherwise I would have gotten better photos. I had to drastically lower the photo quality to get these pictures to upload, but I hope these will still work. The year under the "ERFERT" marking appears to be damaged and hard to read in the picture, but this is not actually what it looks like, in person, it is clearly marked 1915. All numbers matching, everything functions perfectly, the bore is in great condition, and the metal retains the majority of its finish. The only issues that come to mind is the original sling it came with is very dry and rigid, and the wood is a little dinged up (as to be expected of an old military rifle). Like I said before, I bought it for $700. Any help on the value would be great.
Thank you.
 

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It looks like it’s all there. For $700 you stole it. One thing I might add is that the bolt has been refinished. These should be “in the white” and while they were blued in the Weimar era, I don’t seen any clear signs this rifle was in Germany during that time.

Does the bolt lock open on empty?

Refinished or not, sounds like a great deal.
 
I'm pretty sure this is a Weimar rework. Not all of them will have the 1920 receiver stamp, likely a later Weimar or Third Reich rework. The reblued metal and take down disk give it away.
 
That’s true, I didn’t see it in the description it’s a 1915. Looking at the photo I thought it was a 1918, which would’ve meant a takedown disc from production. There should be some Weimar stamps somewhere on the rifle.

Another sign I mentioned is if the magazine follower was modified to hold the bolt open on empty. That was a common Weimar rework.

It’s still a steal for $700 no matter how you look at it lol.
 
OnlyMil said:
It looks like it’s all there. For $700 you stole it. One thing I might add is that the bolt has been refinished. These should be “in the white” and while they were blued in the Weimar era, I don’t seen any clear signs this rifle was in Germany during that time.

Does the bolt lock open on empty?

Refinished or not, sounds like a great deal.
Click to expand...
It does not lock open.
 
OnlyMil said:
That’s true, I didn’t see it in the description it’s a 1915. Looking at the photo I thought it was a 1918, which would’ve meant a takedown disc from production. There should be some Weimar stamps somewhere on the rifle.

Another sign I mentioned is if the magazine follower was modified to hold the bolt open on empty. That was a common Weimar rework.

It’s still a steal for $700 no matter how you look at it lol.
Click to expand...
The bolt does not lock open, which markings am I looking for?
 
Lincoln Waffle said:
The bolt does not lock open, which markings am I looking for?
Click to expand...

Not all Weimar reworks will have much in the way of markings, especially with K98a's. Its likely many of these were done for various police/security forces by very small depots/armourers, and you don't tend to see much in the way of markings. Anything on the top of the butt plate or side of the stock?
 
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