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Gewehr 98s - 1915 Simson Suhl and 1917 Waffenfabrik Mauser

Jim's Militaria

Jim's Militaria

Well-known member
Hi,
I am new to the forum and have a new fetish, I have started a collection of Gewehr 98s by maker and date. I am going to try to limit myself to the war years and stay under $300 (unless a gem pops up). So far I have bagged an easy one and a tough one. The 1915 Simson Suhl is on top and the 1917 Waffenfabrik Mauser is on bottom. The Simson has a strange stock marking near the disk, any idea what the mark was for?

Thanks in advance and sorry for the bad pictures.


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Keep your fetish to yourself, but please post more pics of your Gew98s :biggrin1:

Are they matching? That simson looks nummy
 
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I will try to get some more pictures in the sun, the flash pictures just look terrible. The Simson has a mismatched stock, bolt, and cleaning rod. The Waffenfabrik Mauser has a mismatched bolt and cleaning rod.
 
Welcome to the forum Jim, you didn't say your Simson was a 1915!

That is probably the rarest wartime maker-date combination, certainly up until 1918, when it might get some competition when it comes to survival rates (it would win out on actual production by suffix ranges known, but most 1918 dated rifles were destroyed or served in the interwar period, - Imperial configuration 1918 dated Gewehr98's are next to impossible to find except for Amberg).

Try and do more of the Simson? What is its serial number? Is it over the mid-2000 range?
 
Might it be serial 814? It is reported in your area and was described in roughly the same condition some years ago.
 
Hi,
She is serial #524. I should be able to get some better pictures up soon. Can you tell me what the lowest and highest recorded serial numbers are for 1915 Simsons?

Now I need to start hunting #814....
 
Yes, I wish you would find it and do some pictures of it! It is described as largely mismatched and last recorded the gunshow seller only wanted $350, but the reporter passed at that price. Not sure what it looks like beyond this, but the report came a from a collector in Michigan.

Lowest known is serial 197, highest 2222, though there are a couple others that the serial is not known. Two are in Germany, including 197, the only matching-original rifle confirmed is 2222 that a collector that frequents here owns. It was made into a lamp of all things, but as I recall is quite usable.
 
SimsonSuhl said:
Yes, I wish you would find it and do some pictures of it! It is described as largely mismatched and last recorded the gunshow seller only wanted $350, but the reporter passed at that price. Not sure what it looks like beyond this, but the report came a from a collector in Michigan.

Lowest known is serial 197, highest 2222, though there are a couple others that the serial is not known. Two are in Germany, including 197, the only matching-original rifle confirmed is 2222 that a collector that frequents here owns. It was made into a lamp of all things, but as I recall is quite usable.
Click to expand...

A little off-topic I know, but fascinating none the less!
http://www.k98kforum.com/showthread.php?6313-Way-Cool-Serial-Number-on-a-Mauser-DSM
 
Here are some additional pictures. As mentioned before she has a mismatched stock, bolt, and cleaning rod.
The bore is blazing bright with no pits!


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What a wonderful rifle! Probably the best find I have seen in a year or more, as scarce a maker as they come and difficult to find in any condition, needless to say with all the parts that you have original-matching. If I had the money, I'd offer you $1k on it just because it is the key maker-date of the wartime years and I really like Simson Suhl (and it is "probably" the lowest or near the lowest maker-date throughout Gewehr98 production 1898-1919. Some pre-war MO/DWM would rival this maker-date, but only in a very few key prewar years)

Yes, you are correct the lamp rifle was a bolt m/m, going from recollection, I will post a few pictures, the owner is a friend and I do not think he would mind (all these were on Gunboards in 2010, I will add the link). I have the ebay pictures too, where it was found, the seller sold a bayonet and had pictures of the rifle lamp, the current owner bought the bayonet and did a deal on the rifle lamp afterward. Not sure what the rifle sold for offhand, the bayonet sold for $800 or so, it was a sawback with bard.

BTW, thanks for the great pictures, everything I could have asked for, though if you ever break the rifle down, do jot down the barrel code for me.

http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?152072-1915-Simson-Gew-98-lamp


Jim's Militaria said:
Here are some additional pictures. As mentioned before she has a mismatched stock, bolt, and cleaning rod.
The bore is blazing bright with no pits!
Click to expand...
 

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Paul,
Thanks for the pictures of that wonderful lamp!

I will take some pictures of the codes if I take her apart further. From the sounds of it she is one of 6 or so known? I am off with a head start in my war year / maker collection.
 
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Yes, the '15 Simson/lamp was a bolt m/m. I didn't get the bayo, knew it would go for big bucks since it was a nice sawback Sg98. I actually saw the gewehr lamp in the background of one of the bayo pics on fleabay, communicated with seller, etc. $400
 
Here's the story behind the other rifle. It just made me scratch my head....

I set up at the Grand Rapids gun show here in Michigan. It's the one show where I am actually near the entrance. Just walk in and turn right and I am on the wall a few tables in. Anyway my spot gives me a view of the door so I see all the goodies coming in. On Sunday I see a 98 walk in and while it is being cleared and strapped I am thinking here’s comes something to play with. Just then the guy walks in and turns left! My hopes dashed I busy myself with other things. Then over 2 hours later I see the same guy a few rows over and he still has the rifle! That’s when I start thinking he is way overpriced. A bit later he is walking by with the rifle so I stop him so I can have a look. It’s a 1917 Gewehr 98 nicely marked Waffenfabrik Mauser A.G. Oberndorff A/N. The rifle has a decent bore and is all matching except the bolt.

So to sum this all up the guy walked in with a rifle and a for sale sign. He walked the entire show (over 400 tables) before he got to me (one of the last 7 or 8 tables).

So what the hell I bought what he had for sale… all for $270.

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There is only really 5 known, with two others just vague or partial reports, one of which just a maker-date and probably the worst single picture ever taken for an auction. I think the KCN had a for sale ad once for another, but I did not record it, probably because it didn't give any details to identify it.
 
Yes, that is a very impressive rifle! Has to be one of the best finds in a long while!
 
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