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16594 - Handgun Collection
6/25/2022
Kim Dakota City Nebraska

Maker: SW I Think, Model: 1 12 7 Shot Revolver, Caliber: 22short Maybe, Barrel Length: 3-3 12, Finish: Handgun - Blue, SN: 51846

Question:
Trying to figure out the make and year of this old revolver. Writing on the top of barrel but cant make out. Serial number on bottom of handle. The barrel flips up remove cylinder to load. Not sure of caliber.

Answer:
Kim , the Colt Frontier Scout and the S&W .32 are both low demand items because of their condition and in the case of the S&W because of the .32 caliber it is chambered in but the P38 is a different story, here is some info on this pistol:

The German firearms industry has a long history of innovations. The P38 pistol was one of these. While the Luger was an excellent semiautomatic pistol it jammed when exposed to small amounts of dirt, and was quite expensive to make. Starting in the 1930`s the German army began looking for a new pistol to replace the Luger. The Army finally accepted the design by the Walther company. They new pistol was designated the P38 for Pistole 38, the year it was adopted. It featured a double action lock, the first adopted by a major army. It was also much easier to manufacture. While the Lugers were the most prized souvenirs captured by our soldiers, the P38 was a close second.

The Walther company was the first maker, but as the war progressed and the need for pistols increased the Mauser company also began making P38s, and then a company called Spreewerk, located in Berlin, but with its plant in Czechoslovakia, was assigned to make P38s. Spreewerk did not begin serious production until December of 1942. The earliest pistols well into the ``a`` block of serial numbers have parts supplied by the Walther factory to assist Spreewerk.

Your pistol was made by the Spreewerk company in Late 1942 or early 1943. The holster that comes with was made for a Luger but the P.38 will fit. The papers that come with the pistol are called ``capture papers``, please put the capture papers in a plastic photo sleeve to protect them instead of rolling them up again. The photo shows where they have been, and that is nice to explain the poor condition of the paper.

Retail demand for the P.38 with capture papers is quite good and I would expect to see it sell in the $2000 or more range. Marc

16593 - T-14 Missing A Grip
6/18/2022
Ken

Maker: Japan, Model: Handgun, Caliber: ?, Barrel Length: ?, Finish: Blue, SN: ?

Markings:
Missing a grip.

Question:
I inherited this gun from my father who passed away, not sure if it`s worth anything.

Answer:
Ken - thanks for sending the pictures, they really help. You have a late Type 14 (Nambu) pistol with the large trigger guard. The T-14 design was developed by the Tokyo Arsenal under supervision of General Kijiro Nambu and accepted by the Imperial Japanese Army in the Emperor Taisho Era date 14 (Western calendar year 1925), thus the official designation ``Type 14 year`` pistol and the ``Nambu`` nickname. About 280,000 Type 14 pistols were produced from 1926 to 1945 in two main variations which collectors call, the small trigger guard variation and the large trigger guard variation. The Type 14 trigger guards were changed from small to large as a result of combat experience gained in North China and Manchuria during the winter months, so that pistols could be fired with a gloved hand.

Small Trigger Guard pistols were manufactured by the Nagoya Army Arsenal, the Tokyo/Kokura Army Arsenal and the Nambu Factory under the supervision of the Nagoya Army Arsenal from 1926 to September of 1939. Large trigger guard pistols were manufactured from September 1939 to July 1945 by the Nambu Factory under supervision of the Nagoya Army Arsenal and by the Nagoya Army Arsenal, Toriimatsu Factory. Your Nambu was manufactured at Toriimatsu in August of 1944. The grip that is on your pistol is not original, it looks like it is a fabrication of some sort. The missing grips will be hard to find and they have a negative effect on value, in it`s present condition, I would expect to see a pistol like yours retail in the $45- to $500 range. Marc

16587 - Beretta 38 / 42
6/11/2022
Raven Baltimore MD USA

Maker: Baretta, Model: 3842, Caliber: 9mm, Barrel Length: ?, Finish: Other - Rusty, SN: 349

Markings:
CQ

Question:
Does this WWII gun have any historical significance

Answer:
Raven, the MAB 38 (Moschetto Automatico Beretta Modello 1938), Modello 38, or Model 38 and its variants were a series of official submachine guns of the Royal Italian Army introduced in 1938 and used during World War II. The guns were also used by the German, Romanian, and Argentine armies of the time.

If you have a fully automatic weapon, here in the USA, there are some concerns that you should be aware of. The National Firearms Act passed in 1934 basically outlawed machine guns and sawed off shotguns/rifles. People who had them were required to register them with the Treasury Department. The Gun Control Act of 1968 had a whole bunch of requirements concerning gun sales, and also included an ``Amnesty Period`` for people who had not previously registered their machine gun or sawed off shotgun/rifle to do so without any penalty. That Amnesty Period expired in 1968, and there has never been another, and it is highly unlikely that there will ever be another.

When machine guns (or short barreled rifles or shotguns) were registered in 1934 or 1968 the owners were given papers to prove that the guns were registered, and copies were kept on file with the BATF in Washington. Theoretically, if you lost your papers, they could provide a replacement copy. However, people familiar with the situation report that the BATF files are a disaster and they are very often unable to tell if your gun is registered or not. (Therefore you should assume that if you do not have papers, the odds of having BATF find copies for you are not very good. Thus, the BATF will decide it is NOT registered, (unless you can prove that it is.) Possession of an unregistered machine gun or sawed off rifle/shotgun is a federal felony with big hard time sentences and hefty fines (something like 10 years and/or $10,000 fine). BATF prosecutes a lot of these cases, even if the owner is not using the gun in holdups or anything.

Anyone who has an unregistered machine gun or sawed off shotgun/rifle has several options, none very appealing. We recommend option (a).

a. Contact your closest BATF office (blue pages, US Govt., Treasury Dept., BATF) and tell them that you found/inherited or were given this item, or whatever the case is, and want to (1) know if it is legal to keep and (2) if not, turn it in for destruction. If they confirm it is illegal then you can make arrangements for it to be turned over. You will not be compensated, but you won`t be prosecuted.

b. The most stupid action in the world would be to attempt to sell an illegal machine gun or sawed off shotgun/rifle. It just would not be worth it. Reportedly BATF actively looks for people doing this, and get lots of convictions. Your legal fees would be horrendous, and chances of escaping jail are not good. People (other than BATF agents) wanting to buy illegal guns are probably nasty violent criminals anyway. You must be crazy to even think of doing business with them.

c. The next most stupid action in the world would be to keep an illegal machine gun and hope no one finds out about it. The plumber, baby sitter, ex-spouse, kid`s friends, etc. might notice your contraband and tell someone else about it. Eventually your friendly BATF agents would contact you. The Branch Davidians at Waco and Randy Weaver`s family at Ruby Ridge ended up dead as a result of reports of illegal firearms possession and subsequent BATF attacks.

d. Check with a military museum. You might be able to donate it to the museum and preserve some important history.

e. The part of a machine gun that is taxed is the receiver. Depending on the gun, the rest of the parts (stock, trigger group, barrel, bolt, gas piston assembly) may be of value to someone with legal owned similar weapon. Strip them off, and turn in the receiver. Marc

16592 - Collt SAA With - Non Matching
6/4/2022
Michael

Maker: Colt, Model: SAA, Caliber: ?, Barrel Length: ?, Finish: ?, SN: ?

Question:
I have Colt SAA patent 1871, 1872, 1875. On the frame and in front of the trigger guard are matching serial numbers (65968, 1881 date). There is also another serial number on the bottom of the grip strap (169825, 1897 date). My question is the pistol a marriage or was it made in 1897 using the 1881 frame?

Answer:
Michael - The miracle of interchangeable parts! When made, all numbers would have been matching. For Military cavalry model revolvers, some parts got changed in the field and others were totally disassembled and the barrels cut to 5.75`` for use as Artillery models circa 1896, and reassembled with no attempt to match numbers. Whatever happened in civilian guns depended on local circumstances.

I am certain that Colt was not using left over (previously used and numbered) parts for assembly of civilian guns in 1897.

Hope that helps. John Spangler

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