Mysterious Walther PP

[TBeck]

My father showed me a gun this weekend and asked if I could tell him anything about it. The gun belongs to a friend who had acquired it from another family member.

It's a Walther PP-style pistol in 7.65mm. The serial number is 378915P ac. The grips and the magazines bear the Walther logo but there is no logo on the gun. Frame and slide both bear the same serial number. There is a tiny proof mark on the frame and slide that is an eagle with the head facing left. Under the eagle, as if in it's talons is the capital letter "N". Internal finish seems crude with a great number of tool marks. The exterior of the gun looks like case-hardened steel.

Who made the gun and what might the approximate value be assuming very good condition? Thanks!

 

[Strayhorn]

This is most likely a wartime Walther PP, the "ac" is the production code for Carl Walther Zella-Mehlis, Thuringia, the old factory that was lost to the Russians after the war and replaced by the current factory at Ulm, Do.

I'm curious that it doesn't have the Walther banner on the left side of the slide, but it may be late war production when many nicities were lost. If the grips and magazine have the Walther logo, they were most likely earlier production and counterstamped on the pistol's issue. If the magazine is stamped with the serial number, that adds to the worth.

The eagle-and-N is a proof mark common to guns of that period.

As for the gun resembling case-hardened steel, that's also common to Walthers of pre-war or wartime manufacture. It's caused by the blue being worn off in irregular patches by holsters. I have a pre-war PPK that looks like this.

As for worth, well, I'm no expert on that. Unfortunately, the price of PPs is at something of a low now that the German State Police are selling their PP models in favor of the new P99 series. However, a dealer who specializes in wartime Walthers might be able to give you a better idea of the actual worth - one thing in your favor is that Zella-Methis Walthers bring a bit more on the market, but late-war Walthers don't bring as much as earlier, better-made models.

Check through the Walther listings at GunsAmerica (www.gunsamerica.com) for an indication of current prices.

Ken Strayhorn
Hillsborough NC