What are the prices you're seeing?

Seems to me on a nice matching example $2000-2600 depending on code/year and $1100+ for bolt mismatches?
Can't really finger where the RC and Balkans K98Ks are at, I sold one at auction for $750 recently(don't blame me, penny no reserve start).

Where are you seeing things?

lately from what I've seen listed...

Recently RCs I've noticed sell for 500 to 950ish, of course depends on the quality and makers.
Nicer bring backs that are mostly matching seem to go for 1000+ and up depending on condition and #'s
Collector grade and really nice ones go anywhere for 1500 to maybe 2800.

And Classic Firearms managed to sell bunch of RC's for 1000 so don't feel bad about 750.

Prices on types have really skyrocketed, I think good portion are in possession of collectors and the demand from new reenactors have really driven up the price, as well as new collectors that aren't fully aware of prices and will buy the first they see.

Just my 2 cents.

I just paid $1050 for a bnz45 t block true bolt mismatch and I was pretty happy at that price. I would agree about seeing true bolt m/m rifle north of $1000, especially more desirable ones. Throwing out some of the recent ridiculous prices ($4k plus for an average '44??) honest matching rifles seems strong. Seems to me nice RCs are well north of $500 for the most part across all the auction platforms. Deals still sneak through occasionally.

Last 98k I came across was a BYF-43 bolt mis-match with an asking price of $1800 but that was at a Gun Show where I usually find prices ridiculous on most guns. I also would love to know where prices are in general. Though it seems to me they are climbing especially the R/Cs.

Average matching 98k's have been selling for $1,400-2,000. Sometimes less. Sometimes more. As always, YMMV. I don't follow RC prices so can't help you there.

Hello all,

I am new to collecting, I say i officially started beginning of this year. Out of the 4 K98's I have I bought a R/C 1936 S/147 for 800 bucks. It was in pretty good shape, no peening and all Waffenamt Stamps were intact. I then bought a RC 1937 S/42 for for 650 bucks. The bolt is peened but all stamps are intact. It's kind of in rough shape.

Those are the only RC's I bought. I thought they were priced high because when i first got on the forum everyone was saying a RC goes for 300 to 500. But I couldn't find any.

I then bought an all matching DOU 43 from a Vets son who was selling his dad's stuff after he passed. It had the matching stock (numbered to the rifle) but it had been cut down. So obviously it was missing the bands and bayo lug. I paid 800 for that. I then bought a period correct stock and am in the process of getting correct bands. To be honest though I am not happy with the stock purchase and will probably buy a nicer one at some point. (Hint...hint if anyone has one!)

Anyways that's my experience with buying K98's this year.

Dave C


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Even at the larger shows I very rarely see an honest, all-matching 98K of any manufacturer or vintage in decent condition anymore. Getting to the point of even discussing price is about an annual occurrence.

Docmaster1 said:

..everyone was saying a RC goes for 300 to 500. But I couldn't find any.

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Yeah about that. I heard that shite a lot too. Where? Now anymore I reply with 'show me where and I'll buy 5'. 'honeyhole'.. go phuck yourself. "I offered him 7 bux and some pocket lint. Told him take it or leave it" Double go phuck yourself. It was bad on Gunboards. Really bad. There are a few guys that now matter what deal someone posted they had to top it. People do find true deals and often it's because of a poor description, few/terrible pictures or being mislisted. There's usually a bit of a gamble involved. Rant off.

Welcome to the forum! I think you'll find lots of pictures and information on some truly wonderful rifles.

Thank you for the kind words...I usually only buy stuff off GunBroker that I can't get elsewhere. I am currently looking at a full barrel assembly for an MP40.


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I just saw (3) RC Mausers sell on Calguns for $550 each. Granted they sold quickly.

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It seems to me that the matching excellent condition guns are almost always north of 1000 bucks and I think that is probably fair. R/C guns are all over the place, partly because once one is posted on an auction or the trader here, people who are interested go through a process of determining exactly what it IS and what it WAS. And like Bruce and Michael said in KMIII and I have pointed out many times, there are some codes and dates that you're gonna have a hell of a hard time finding that AREN'T Russian captures, primarily dou45 comes to mind. Thus you can justify an R/C gun being priced fairly anywhere from say 300 bucks to up around 800 I would say, depending on who is fighting over it and exactly what it is. As always value is determined at that time of sale by the seller AND buyer! The seller has a value that they are thinking it's worth, and they need to have a buyer that agrees with that valuation. I know many folks who won't even LOOK at an R/C gun let alone discuss value, and that's perfectly fine. But as was said above, it sure feels to me as though the flow of good honest matching guns coming out of estates is really slowing down. As more vets of the ETO pass away, that is the natural and expected ebb in the supply to market of such guns. If interest grows at the same rate as it has or increases, we should expect prices to go up higher, with supply going down.

As for Mitchell's and all the other, *ahem* " re-manufacturers" of K98s they only serve to drive prices higher by ruining parts and whole guns at an unbelievable rate. In that regard I almost WISH the price on Norway, Yugo, and Russian captures would get up enough to make it a waste of time to hump parts and whole guns!! All of us would take a Greek cosmoline encased gun over Mitchell's, or even an ex-Iraqi or Israeli gun. At least they're not fakes!! But the humpers apparently buy enough death's head stamps on EBay to make THOSE a lucrative market, along with the giant "war eagle" stamps designed to be seen from orbit. As long as these guys keep ruining stuff, they only drive prices UP, and make the hobby less accessible to new collectors. They're not helping US or the hobby at all, they're hurting all of it.

Just my two cents, which adjusted for inflation is worth five cents.


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Well said!


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+1 Very well said indeed. Prices do seem to be on the way up for R/Cs and all-matchers.

I had been looking on Gunbroker for weeks for an RC to get for a shooter and had set an upper limit for myself of $500. Good luck!!! I couldn't win an auction to save my life! I finally found an RC that was listed with a $500 buy it now, and it looked half way decent so I jumped on the $500 buy it now. And I don't consider the condition of the rifle that I bought to be very good at all; terrible metal refinish with the typical old crusty banged-up RC stock. I would say RCs are going for $550-$600 and up. "Originals" are anywhere from $800 for questionable bolt mismatches to off-the charts.

I'm in the hobby to shoot, not to collect museum pieces, and with the price of "matched" rifles that I've seen, and the massive doubt on whether they're even original with all the fakes out there, I'll stick to cleaning up RC shooters.

I don't know about prices looking up. Seems to me prices are down from their recent highs of 2 months ago. All matching have been down for the last year.

Yes prices are higher from 2 years ago, but Milsurps across the board seem to be trending downwards.

Of course you get outliers; especially on gunbroker. Taking into account gunbroker, other auctions, and forum sales I would say prices are certainly not trending up.

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Times have certainly changed. When I began collecting German service rifles and variants, myself and those like me were considered "bottom feeders'' by "REAL COLLECTORS". Guys who collected Lugers, Colts, Civil War, Parker shotguns, etc. held their noses as "War Surplus Junkies" walked by.

I remember buying a really nice byf 44 for $100.00 in Louisville,and having a complete stranger say to me I wouldn't waste $100.00 on that piece of Nazi shite rifle, even if it had Hitler's fingerprints still on it........

Nice matching stuff will increase in value as long as new collectors have faith in the integrity of the hobby. What we all have been doing for the last 20 years has played a role in the price stability and increases. Matching rifle price increases will pull RC prices up too. The hobby is healthy.

The best of the best will always hold its value, but nothing moves at a straight up trajectory. All Bubbles Burst.

With that being said collect what you like, but be patient. In the long run it will serve you well.

If you go chasing anything on Gunbroker, do so realizing you will likely never get back what you paid.

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DaveDavis said:

Times have certainly changed. When I began collecting German service rifles and variants, myself and those like me were considered "bottom feeders'' by "REAL COLLECTORS". Guys who collected Lugers, Colts, Civil War, Parker shotguns, etc. held their noses as "War Surplus Junkies" walked by.

I remember buying a really nice byf 44 for $100.00 in Louisville,and having a complete stranger say to me I wouldn't waste $100.00 on that piece of Nazi shite rifle, even if it had Hitler's fingerprints still on it........

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Yeah, and my uncle remembers when you could go to the local sports shop and pick through a barrel of old mausers, caracanos, and enfields for $29, and then take it and pay a gunsmith about the same amount of money to convert it to a sporterized deer rifle. Don't want some damn Nazi gun, but boy it makes a nice deer rifle!

Major Konig said:

I'm in the hobby to shoot, not to collect museum pieces, and with the price of "matched" rifles that I've seen, and the massive doubt on whether they're even original with all the fakes out there, I'll stick to cleaning up RC shooters.

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I'm of the same mind, and to me there is nothing wrong with acquiring RCs and cleaning them up. While they may not be as desirable to collectors, they are great guns with many gems among all that shellac. And by cleaning them up and servicing them properly one is extending their life for future generations to enjoy without breaking their wallet.