December 16, 17, & 18, 2020 Field & Range Firearms
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/17/2020
P.38 pistol manufactured by Walther in 1940. Originally only stamped with "ac" on the slide, the decision to include the year of manufacture was made after the initial P.38 production had started at the Walther factory. The "40" date code was later hand stamped on the slides, giving them their offset appearance. With only just under 8,000 of these pistols being produced, they are noted as one of the more scarce P.38 variations. For a similar example, see page 229 of "The P.38 Pistol, Volume I" by Warren Buxton. The serial number of 5127a places this example in the later half of Walther's production. The left side of the slide is marked "P.38 ac/40" followed by the serial number on the left side, with eagle over "359" waffenamts on the right. "ac" code stamp on trigger guard, just below the frame serial number. Eagle over "135" waffenamts present on the top and interior of the slide. Barrel and locking block appear to have been replaced and stamped to match. CONDITION: Metal components retain the majority of their redipped blue finish, exhibiting some light surface corrosion all around. Bore is bright, exhibiting cleaned pitting and fair rifling throughout. Bakelite grips show some minor chipping and some wear all around.