bought a 1916 oberspree, what is she worth and what can you tell me about her?

[AjPjSay]

not looking to get rid of but it's always nice to know values and all that

1916 oberspree, matching except bolt is force matched, okay condition and good bore. she's got a tiger stripe stock. i think that's less common? also interesting is there are some burn marks along the stock.

i know a good bit about 93 & 96 mausers but i'm new to imperial 98s, anything you guys can tell me about this gun? i think oberspree was the only berlin based private mfg so that's pretty cool. what kind of production numbers did they see?

picked her up for $400 too which i believe is a good deal.

lemme know if pics would help, thx

 

[Warrior1354]

Hard too say without pictures but any Waffenwerke Oberspree Kornbusch Gew98 is highly wanted by collectors. If its what you say it is and only the bolt is forced matched by a depot $400 was an incredible deal. And the earlier the letter block the better. Not too mention these rifles by this manufacturer were low production and quite scarce too find correct and untouched.

Post pictures when you can and I'll be able too tell you more.

 

[AjPjSay]

Hard too say without pictures but any Waffenwerke Oberspree Kornbusch Gew98 is highly wanted by collectors. If its what you say it is and only the bolt is forced matched by a depot $400 was an incredible deal. And the earlier the letter block the better. Not too mention these rifles by this manufacturer were low production and quite scarce too find correct and untouched.

Post pictures when you can and I'll be able too tell you more.

sure thing, where might i find the letter block? not seeing it in front of any serials (s/n 3018)

let me know if theres any specific pics you need to see in order to give me a price est

 

[Warrior1354]

Even better its a Sterngewehr!

These were rifles assembled by left over parts or rejected receivers. Most likely this rifle was a Stern rifle using a left over WOK receiver. You will have too take pictures of the right side of the receiver too tell more about this rifle. My guess would be Spandau did the work.

 

[AjPjSay]

Even better its a Sterngewehr!

These were rifles assembled by left over parts or rejected receivers. Most likely this rifle was a Stern rifle using a left over WOK receiver. You will have too take pictures of the right side of the receiver too tell more about this rifle. My guess would be Spandau did the work.

interesting! how many of these are out there? also, considering these could be from rejected receivers are they safe to shoot?

here are the proofs on the right

 

[Warrior1354]

Perfectly safe for shooting. What I mean by rejected is the receiver could have had some finish issues or just didn't fit the production quality at the time. When these rifles were being assembled from subcontracted parts or left over parts they used many of these types of receivers. Its just you don't see many Kornbusch marked receivers being used. My guess the receiver was rejected just because it was marked Kornbusch and it was a leftover part after DWM took over the firm. And the receivers were just marked Waffenwerke Oberspree. Again just a theory.

IMO my favorite of the Stern rifles are the Saxon Sterngewehrs by Dresden.

Personally I find these rifles very interesting and have much too still learn about them. Plus I think they can also be sleepers at shows. Some sellers may think their just a regular Gew98. Most have no clue what a Sterngewehr Gew98 is anyway.

 

[flynaked]

Durn that’s a cool rifle, has a great look and not a common one!

 

[heavy_mech]

I think you did great at that price. As mentioned often people don't really know what they have.

 

[Loewe]

Jordan is correct in his statement this was made by Spandau, though Dresden also assembled them from WOK receivers (stars are distinctive and easy to distinguish, but acceptance has the final say and Jordan is right on the mark).

The reason I replied though has more to do with Berlin based firms comment, - DWM was the primary private firm that made rifles in the suburbs of Berlin, though I believe these were largely independent suburbs of Berlin and not Berlin proper until 1920 or so. This includes Oberspree, technically it was not in Berlin until after the war, but DWM had several factories in western parts of Berlins suburbs, Berlin-Wittenau took over much of DWM's original (former Loewe) rifle factory at Martinikenfelde, though both operated throughout the war, Martinikenfelde largely engaged in MG work after 1917. The Wittenau operations(what was left of it) largely went to Mauser in 1930 or so (P08 by 1930).

They also operated several operations in collaboration with US firms, Loewe family were greatly influenced by American industrialists and formed commercial relations with several US firms, Deutsche Niles Werke @ Oberschöneweide (Oberspree). but more importantly, a research laboratory @ Neubabelsberg (another Berlin suburb- had a very modern shooting range), though these latter firms probably stayed in the industrial wing of Loewe's holdings, where as DWM was their weapons lead firm (all was owned by the Loewe corporation, - though in reality all of it held by a banking cartel, - no man or family was wealthy enough to own all the Loewe AG held...)

Of course DWM was intimately involved in Oberspree, the firm largely started with machines looted from DWM FN's operation, with land/structure owned by another individual. So in essence Oberspree was owned by DWM from beginning to end... Also Spandau operated in the Berlin area, the farthest western area of Berlin I believe, not sure whether they were included in the 1920's reorganization of Berlin or not, but of course they were never privately held and the factory was largely broken up and sold after the war.

i think oberspree was the only berlin based private mfg so that's pretty cool. what kind of production numbers did they see?