1909 Spandau Kar98a

Hey All,

I was happy to snag the Amberg last month, but this one was really a cool buy. While it was a grey blanket auction, the price didn't get too outlandish considering the rarity of this piece.

I don't think they ever got out of the no-suffix block any of the 3 years these were produced. I had read 8-9k produced, but I think that figure has got to be low.

This 1909 Spandau 98a is salty, but a nice representative piece.

The pros:
-Stock, triggerguard, bands, bayo lug, hook, nosecap, sights, ejector and screws match
-The floorplate and barrel are a depot (Cologne) replacement, as is the handguard.
-Crisp stock
-I found a Spandau 98a bolt with a close-ish SN in my parts box
-It's unit marked to an artillery munitions column of the 19th army corps
-It's a Spandau 98a

The cons-
- Bolt, Handguard and barrel are MM
- Bubba put sling swivels on the bottom (one obliterated keel acceptance)- while the holes were filled, I'm going to be re-doing the job to make the two holes less apparent.


The data:

Receiver 2005
Barrel: 4082 BJ 111 (replaced)
Front Sight 05
Rear Sight Leaf 05
Sight Slider 05
Ejector Box 05
Trigger Sear 05
Front Barrel Band 05
Rear Barrel Band 05
Trigger Guard 2005
Trigger Guard Screws 05, 05
Floor Plate 05 (force matched)
Follower Armorer
Stock 2005
Handguard : 4097 (m/m)
Buttplate 2005
Bayonet Lug 05
Stacking Hook 05
Bolt Body 2573
Extractor 73
Safety 73
Cocking Piece 73
Bolt Sleeve 73
Firing Pin 73

While the bolt is m/m it's about as good of an example as i could have hoped for unless i got struck by lightning and found one matching.

Thanks for looking

More Pics

Very nice carbine Chris and quite rare is an understatement for that one. You hardy ever find a Spandau 98a for sale! And with these you can't be too picky either lol!

Warrior1354 said:

Very nice carbine Chris and quite rare is an understatement for that one. You hardy ever find a Spandau 98a for sale! And with these you can't be too picky either lol!

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Thanks Jordan! These guys are in the Navy Gew Tier. -- was happy to even score a mismatch bolt one.

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Great pick-up, any Spandau is a great score really... easily the hardest to find.

Loewe said:

Great pick-up, any Spandau is a great score really... easily the hardest to find.

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You would absolutely know Paul you were huge collector of these carbines back in the day from what you told me. I'll be honest I wish I could have bought that 1914/15 kar98a off you years ago before you traded it!

Loewe said:

Great pick-up, any Spandau is a great score really... easily the hardest to find.

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Thanks Paul-- this was one I wasn't holding my breath on finding, but glad it popped up. I was even happier I had a correct bolt on hand (if you recall it seems to be a trend with me on these rare bolt mm-- vindicates my eBay and other trolling for parts haha)

Have we nailed down a firmer estimate of production by Spandau? I know some older studies suggested 8-9k from 1908-10 but I would think that had to be low.

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J, Yes, I had a rather rash love affair with the 98a for awhile, never got a Spandau, though a good variety of the rest, including a wonderful Amberg/09. Like most collectors you go through phases, especially as you broaden your reading and research.

C, Spandau is not only the most elusive, it is also full of diversity, - though fairly narrow unit marking trends, yours is an outlier unit marking wise, 9 out of the 15 recorded with unit markings are cavalry related, one is telegraph and another artillery. Though this a little distorted when you consider all 1910's seem to have been finished by Erfurt (not many but one up to the b-block which had for sometime given a false impression of much higher production...); further there is at least one Spandau/14 Kar.98 which also has been finished by Erfurt. Not sure how to explain that but it is confirmed with pictures.

Anyway, 12 1908's are recorded (9700 range), 17 1909's (11,000 range - early a-blocks), at least 4 1910's, all that can be confirmed appear to be Erfurt finished. Then the Spandau/14, inexplicable, but exists (attached a couple pictures)

*** It should be made clear that of the arsenals that made the Kar.98a, only Spandau continued in meaningful (but lower rate) production of the Gewehr98. All other arsenals stopped or seriously curtailed G98 production, this probably accounts for the low production by Spandau of both variations during these years (1908-1909, but during 1910 Spandau was little burdened and made the c-block in G98 production, by far the highest, - 1910 & 1911 are the rarest G98 years, only Spandau & WMO are known to have made G98's...)

Loewe said:

C, Spandau is not only the most elusive, it is also full of diversity, - though fairly narrow unit marking trends, yours is an outlier unit marking wise, 9 out of the 15 recorded with unit markings are cavalry related, one is telegraph and another artillery. Though this a little distorted when you consider all 1910's seem to have been finished by Erfurt (not many but one up to the b-block which had for sometime given a false impression of much higher production...); further there is at least one Spandau/14 Kar.98 which also has been finished by Erfurt. Not sure how to explain that but it is confirmed with pictures.

Anyway, 12 1908's are recorded (9700 range), 17 1909's (11,000 range - early a-blocks), at least 4 1910's, all that can be confirmed appear to be Erfurt finished. Then the Spandau/14, inexplicable, but exists (attached a couple pictures)

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Thanks Paul-- more Spandaus out there than I thought, though that was maybe the 4th or 5th I've seen for sale. A Weimar rework (sadly burned in a fire and no stock-- did you see that one at least for receiver trending?) sold around the same time as mine. Prior to that there were a couple on gunbroker 7-8 years ago.


That 1914 is wild. It makes me wonder if sone undated Spandau receivers left over from trials or something were laying around and mixed into Erfurt production in 1914 when they were clamoring for any rifle they could find.



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Beautiful! Seeing Spandau on a small ring 98 is definitely not something I’m used to seeing congrats!!

flynaked said:

Beautiful! Seeing Spandau on a small ring 98 is definitely not something I’m used to seeing congrats!!

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Thanks buddy! One of my "grails" lol

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I do not recall seeing a interwar rework that had been in a fire? Have the serial number?? I may have pictures prior to the fire, but none after.. Peterk(1909) and CB(1908) owned examples, but a good number are in Germany, probably 7-8 examples, two from a buddy in Munich. I saw yours when Larry was selling it, but not another from recollection. I will see if I can search GB for it.

It would be an interesting story if we could figure out why Spandau decided (ordered to) continue production of both variations at the same time, but Erfurt, Danzig and Amberg seeming did not, perhaps Spandau had the capability to maintane the G98 while contributing to the 98a production, or perhaps to give Danzig a hand (time) to get the ball rolling in 1909 (Danzig clearly had a slow start, 1907 making good numbers of G98's, 1908 cut more than half, maintained high a-block G98 production, but only a piddling of 98a production in 1908, 25% of Erfurt and Spandau production... by 1909-1913 Danzg was the lead producer of the 98a...) once Danzig was on the ball, Spandau started its decline and retained a modest number of G98 (c-d production - basically alone) till 1914 when Spandau, WMO and Amberg jacked up production... I am sure there was a rational reason for the production scheduled changes and timing.

Interesting to speculate, and a review of Storz may add some clues, as he does meander incoherently through period documents at times (the books primary value). Good luck gathering them and organizing them into a timeline that could be compared to trends though. Probably take hours... a good book but poorly organized, poorly translated and too much space wasted upon "filler" and accessories.

chrisftk said:

Thanks Paul-- more Spandaus out there than I thought, though that was maybe the 4th or 5th I've seen for sale. A Weimar rework (sadly burned in a fire and no stock-- did you see that one at least for receiver trending?) sold around the same time as mine. Prior to that there were a couple on gunbroker 7-8 years ago.


That 1914 is wild. It makes me wonder if sone undated Spandau receivers left over from trials or something were laying around and mixed into Erfurt production in 1914 when they were clamoring for any rifle they could find.



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