my mauser C96. how to appraise it?
- Thread starter gytrbyte
- Start date
Winchester_73
New member
I gotta wonder how high your offers were because to my knowledge there were basically zero factory nickel broomhandles. The gun was re-nickeled after the war by someone.
To identify it as commercial vs military, up close pics of the markings are needed. What is the SN btw?
To identify it as commercial vs military, up close pics of the markings are needed. What is the SN btw?
i turned a 2000 and a 2500 offer down. i dont know if mines worth that much but on gunauction.com they got some going for around that much and more. None were nickel plated though.the serial number is 244824, inside and out of the gun. the stock on the other hand has 908. So close lol.
madcratebuilder
New member
The nickle plating has destroyed collector value. If the should stock is original it's worth 400-600 bucks, if the holster is original it's worth 150-200 bucks.
Looking old is not original as C96 repros have been around for 50-60 years.
2K+ buys a matching pistol with matching shoulder stock. Original stocks have the last four digits stamped in the metal.
Looking old is not original as C96 repros have been around for 50-60 years.
2K+ buys a matching pistol with matching shoulder stock. Original stocks have the last four digits stamped in the metal.
Winchester_73
New member
If you bother reading about C96s, or any other similar semi pistols you will see that very few if any German army or even German commercial sidearms were ever nickel plated. A nickel finish is not necessary as a combat sidearm and actually serves to work against you IE increased visability. There is no reason for the Germans to have originally nickeled your mauser. In addition, its an added cost. I suppose some of the commercial examples could have been nickel, but I don't recall ever seeing a factory nickel example. The only times I remember seeing German military sidearms nickel plated were for presentation examples. If the gun is not marked in a special way, and has no engraving, it is not a presentation piece. Some ways to tell that your gun is not original nickel: plating over pits and other such markings, faint stampings, the gun being completely nickel (many times factory nickel guns have a few parts such as screws finished in another way) etc. The other good indicator is the history of the arm. If your gun is a military contract version (you never posted the SN or any markings, so we don't technically know) it is definitely not original nickel. You may hear stories about an Officer ordering the gun in nickel, or some other BS story, but rest assured, it was nickeled by a previous owner. Nickel plating GI bring backs was very common at one time.
As stated, you would have made out like a bandit to accept a $2000 offer when nice original ones don't often bring that much unless they have a matching stock or some other significance. If the gun and stock are mismatched, IMO the gun is worth less than $1000. When you say you saw blued examples bring $2000 or $2500, they were original collectible examples, and so they are different than your gun. Taking the $2000 would have allowed you to buy a better one for around the same money.
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m.p.driver
New member
I would have taken the $2500 and ran for the door.It's like i told a guy with a chrome plated 03a3 "It's pretty but I'm looking for the before example"
well if the nickel diminished it in price then there not much i can do. Its still a fine looking gun and all the serial numbers match. The stock dont match but that gives me some room to replace the metal on it. My point being is its a my first C96 and good a shooter, ill be sure to do better resarch on the next one.
Many German handguns were brought back by American GI's after WWII, and many of the owners wanted to improve the appearance of the guns to make them more valuable. Today, that idea is sad/funny, but remember that in 1946, Lugers and Mausers were selling for $10 and P.38's for $5, low even for those days. So having a "bringback" pistol nickel or chrome plated and plastic "pearl" grips installed seemed like a good idea to many ex-GI's.
Jim
Jim
madcratebuilder
New member
Very unlikely it's a bring back. My bet is a pre war commercial version. Most early C96's in this country are commercial pistols chambered in 7.63X25. They were very popular and one of the first successful semi auto's on the market.
Closeup pic's of the pistol stripped would allow a more precise evaluation.
I talked about GI bringbacks in regard to plating, but I suspect that particular gun was one of those imported from China 30 or so years ago, before "HW" ordered a ban on handgun and assault rifle importation from China. Most were in absolutely awful condition, badly rusted and with parts missing. Any import marking would likely have been erased when the gun was heavily buffed prior to plating.
Jim
Jim
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