April 27-30, 2021 Extraordinary Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/27/2021
Masterfully converted from a standard World War II production P.38 by John Martz, this is one of only 30 recorded P.38s that were converted to carbines by Martz according to the "Blue Book of Gun Values". Major metal components exhibit a lustrous blue finish, with the barrel retaining latch, trigger, slide stop, magazine catch, and hammer bearing straw finish. Frame is mounted with a custom set of 2-piece checkered walnut grips. The receiver is marked "P.38 ac/41" followed by the serial number on the left hand side. Right side of frame bears the John Martz "JVM" stamp followed by an encircled "11". Mauser eagle over "WaA135" waffenamt is present on the left side of the frame. This example features a custom 16 - 1/2" 9mm Parabellum barrel, which is sleeved within a Mauser eagle over "135" proofed barrel lug/chamber assembly and features a blade front sight with a fixed notch rear sight. A smooth rounded block has been added to the standard rear sight slot on the receiver. The rear grip strap has been modified by adding a section of steel, which allows for the addition of stock. The front of the frame has been modified by adding a 5" hanging iron, enabling the addition of a forearm. Custom wood furniture includes a checkered wood schnabel tip forearm, with a finely figured checkered stock with a smooth butt. Complete with a blued World War II period magazine that is marked with an eagle over "359" waffenamt on the spine CONDITION: Metal components retain bountiful amounts of their lustrous blue finish, exhibiting few and very minor areas of wear. Strawed components are en suite, with the exception of the hammer, which shows an area of silvering on the right hand side. Bore is bright, exhibiting well defined lands and grooves throughout as well as an area with light surface oxidation. Wood furniture exhibits a few minor handling and storage marks, but is otherwise fine. Checkered grips show some smoothing and a few handling marks, with the right grip being fixed to the frame via adhesive and showing a few cracks. An extremely attractive and scarce example of a John Martz custom P.38 carbine that will make for a fine addition for one's collection. -MLW-