Buying or Selling a K98? BBOTW by Law.

Coyote Ugly

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How do you know if the rifles correct and unaltered or refinished and renumbered, or just outright faked?

Backbone of the Wehrmacht (The German K98k Rifle, 1934-1945) by Richard Law may be a start.

Posting pictures on Gunboards K98 section is a good start if you don't know.

The Marstar YUGO rifles have LARGE serial numbers at the lower side of the bottom of the stock, Serial numbers on the right side of the receiver instead of the left side, and the serial number running down the length of the bolt handle. It's not the way they came from the factory originally.

Also, look at the font of the letters and the numbers in the serial numbers.
Each German factory had certain styles they used, so did the YUGO's.

Look for shallow lettering, faint or lack of dirty birds and eagles, missing stamps and numbers, all signs of buffing and sanding, look for serial numbers where they shouldn't be.

The YUGO's force matched serial numbers from other buffed and sanded parts. A force match isn't the same as all matching numbers as the parts are re-serial numbered with numbered punches to match the refurbed rifle at the time it is rearsenalled.
Sometimes you get a line through the serial numbers and a part is renumbered, or you may get one or two parts that are not matching. Typical of YUGO rearsenal.

Usually the Yugo receivers were buffed and scrubbed a bit. I recall seeing one that was buffed and you could place a 0.025" shim or a paper clip between the stock and the receiver, meaning it was ground and buffed.

Then there are the guys who fake K98's by renumbering them to match. Common in the US. Then there's the Russian Captured K98's and the Vopo K98's, and the Israeli K98's...

Keep your eyes open. There is a difference.
 
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Coyote Ugly said:
Backbone of the Wehrmacht (The German K98k Rifle, 1934-1945) by Richard Law may be a start.

Great book.... good recommendation .... :)

An expensive collector's grade publication, but worth every penny of you're going to start buying and investing in WWII German Mausers.

Regards,
Badger
 
And anything with SS runes on it, be VERY skeptical. Tons of faking going on with Death's Head runes and SS single and double runes nowdays.

As good as Law's book is for collectors as a reference, it can also be misused unfortunately by the people who do remark K98's. Faking has gotten a lot more sophisticated with reference material available to work off of. I guess as always, it is caveat emptor and make sure that you are educated about what you are buying before you plonk down the green.
 
steve1973 said:
As good as Law's book is for collectors as a reference, it can also be misused unfortunately by the people who do remark K98's. Faking has gotten a lot more sophisticated with reference material available to work off of.

That's an excellent point, plus the tools are becoming readily available for anyone to do it. I'm a U.S. Springfield Krag collector. Check this link out and it doesn't leave much to the imagination as to how these could be used:

1903 Springfield & Krag Cartouche Stamps for rent :eek:

Regards,
Badger
 
wow is that sneaky and dishonest...it hurts all good honest collectors when people start using stuff like that for ill...

www.mosinnagant.net's collector boards are a good place to suss out a fake before you buy one though, people there are more than happy to expose forgeries and those who make them...
 
Alas, buying from "reputable" dealers isn't always foolproof either (reference a Canadian dealer well known for their collection of stamps).

IMHO, buy the good reference books BEFORE you buy a collectable milsurp. The $100 book can save you thousands when building a collection!

Ask Badgerdog - I know he will agree!
 
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