P38 valuation

[Gary H]

I was hoping on some help regarding the value of a Spreewerk P38 I found in a local pawn shop. It's about 95%+, matching frame and slide, and the grips are in great shape. The problem is that the near perfect barrel is a replacement barrel with no serial number and I'm not seeing any markings on the magazine. What would be the ballpark value of such a P38 nowadays? Thanks for any advice you can give.

Gary

[lugerholsterrepair]

Gary, What did the pawn shop value it at?

[Gary H]

$725. But then I came back after doing some basic research and discovered that the barrel was a replacement and pointed that out. I told the owner I'd likely do a little more research and make counteroffer.

[Doubs]

Is the barrel marked in any way? Is the locking block numbered to the gun?

What is the serial number of the frame and slide?

Small details perhaps but they will have a bearing on the value.

[lugerholsterrepair]

Gary, As nice as it might be..it is no longer a "collectable" pistol because of the barrel swap. You are attempting to buy a shooter. May be a nice shooter..but at a shooter price. Your pawn shop guy may not recognize the difference and hopes to find a buyer who doesn't either.

[Gary H]

I did not see any markings on the barrel. There's a very interesting story behind the replacement of the barrel BTW, but once I stated I was pretty sure the barrel was a replacement and why, the shop owner then verified that he indeed replaced the very damaged original barrel with one he later purchased. I didn't get the serial number. It was somewhere like 4400 and I didn't notice/look RE the locking block. I'm wanting to have reasonable counteroffer that's not too high but not so low that it's insulting.

[Gary H]

Jerry,
Exactly. I'm looking for what a reasonable shooter price would be. The shop owner knows it (and I think he ended up saying it'd be a good shooter) but yeah, he may just be willing to wait until someone else comes along who doesn't realize it. I'm getting the sense that he's willing to come down at least to some degree.
Gary

[lugerholsterrepair]

Gary, Pawn shops are in it to make a profit. Not let product sit. It's all about turnover. Get it in move it out. Pawn guys insult people all day every day. They make insulting offers and people take them, walk out with the cash they can get.

As long as you make an offer that makes them a profit..Make a rediculous low offer. The guy might walk into the back, check what they paid and either take it or counter. It's just bidness with these people. Hard to get emotional about it..If they don't get to where you want..consider yourself lucky. Go back in a month and make another offer. Not the only fish in the deep blue sea.

[Mac Cat]

Pawn shops are often the only local gun dealers in a little town.
I always enjoy checking out what they have and I have learned to ask what they have in the safe.
They don't always put out the good stuff.

Keep them honest - most will bargain.

As a shooter, I would think you would be looking at $400.
And, they usually make all sales final.
So, you take a chance it might work or might not.

[mrerick]

Value of a functioning and damage free P.38 shooter? Perhaps $500-550.

Watch Spreewerk pistols, as some of the workmanship didn't match the quality seen in Walther and Mauser pistols - particularly toward the end of the war.

[Sergio Natali]

Some close ups would help, anyway I don't think it's a collectible any more, Spreewerk's are not the most sought after P38s, the total production was about 270 K units in the period June 1942 April 1946.
I would probably pass it.

[DonVoigt]

You can find a matching one for $750;
I would not offer over $450 for the mixed up one.
Maybe he still has the old barrel also?

[Gary H]

Don, he does have the original barrel, and that’s where there’s an interesting story with a big coincidence. A friend told me the shop had a nice looking P38 so I went by to take a look. I had read enough miscellaneous stuff over the years to tell it was a rather nice-looking WW2 era Spreewerk but didn’t remember at the time that the serial number would be on the underneath portion of the barrel on the barrel lug. I was wondering out-loud whether the barrel was a replacement since I couldn’t find a serial number on it. Whether by words, shrugs, or silence, the shop owner left me with the distinct impression that he didn’t know. I told him that I wanted to do a little research. I did, I reminded myself where the serial number should be, and I came back for another look. When I returned, I pointed out the lack of a serial number on the barrel made me think that it was most likely a replacement/non-original barrel. Then I told him that I was reminded of a case I prosecuted a number of years back where a felon/gang member was caught with a P38. I told him how the idiot had apparently wanted a more compact pistol and, obviously not knowing what kind of gun he had or that he might actually want a front sight, had sawed-off the barrel right by the end of the slide. I added that it looked like the guy used a hack-saw to do it. In response to this story, the owner looked at me for a long moment and then told me he’d be right back. He walked off to a back room and returned a few minutes later carrying what remained of the original barrel. The original matching barrel looked like the end had been sawed-off with a hack-saw at the base of the lug, just like I remembered. He confirmed that he had gotten the gun years ago at a local police auction and that he had personally replaced the barrel. I told him that I’d think about what value such a gun would have and maybe come back with an offer. After I left, I thought that I might have saved the police photos of the gun. I found the photos from 2010 and this was clearly the same P38. So yeah, I was wanting a collector P38 but now I am considering picking up this shooter if the price is right.

[lugerholsterrepair]

Gary, Crazy story! Small World comes to mind!

[DonVoigt]

Great story, even true this time!
Would be a good conversation piece, and maybe even a "pocket carry" P-38.