First WWII Bayonet – Hoping to Learn More

Westsview

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Hi everyone,
I’m brand new to collecting WWII items and just picked up what I believe is a K98 bayonet while on a recent trip to western Kentucky. I’m from Florida and this is my first piece, so I’m really just trying to learn what I can and make sure I understand what I’ve got.
Here’s what I know so far:
• The bayonet blade is marked MUNDLOS with serial number 9666 u
• The scabbard is marked S/173K with serial number 1090 d
I’ve read that these were both early makers, but I’m not sure what that means for collectors.

I know the numbers don’t match, and I’ve read that’s pretty normal, but I’d love to know more about what these markings mean, what year they were made, and how common they are. I’m also not sure how to tell what’s original and what might have been pieced together after the war.

If anyone has advice, or if there are good places to start learning more about bayonets like this, I’d really appreciate it.

Sorry if I missed anything that’s already been answered here. Just excited to be starting this journey and eager to learn.
 

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We all started somewhere, so glad you’ve begun. Look on the spine of the blade… that will tell you the year it was made.

Early bayo makers were assigned a mfg numeric code (like your scabbard) then later the maker name was used (ie., Mundlos, Weyersburg, … with the year on the spine), then lastly, makers were assigned a 2-3 letter code (ie., ab, cvl) and the year of mfg was beneath the letter code.
 
For Scabbard
S/173 is Coppel Gmbh
K Suffix is Year code. (1934)

Throat screw on scabbard does not look original.


Welcome!
 
The bayonet is Mundlos and mostly not early as it should have on spine of blade near crosspiece a 37 or 38 for year, there are missing screws with countersunk, maybe only cleaned? the scabbard is as mentioned early one S/173K Coppel 1934 also missmatch and in much worser condition.
 
First, welcome to the forum. Second, you picked a good place to learn about S84/98 III bayonets. There are a ton of posts with good information and pictures too. Don`t be afraid to ask questions. Though, if you don`t mind reading, most questions have already been answered in other posts.
As far as collecting S84/98 III bayonets, are your plans to just get what you get when you find it or are you going to invest in a collection?
There are conditions that effect the collector value. Kind of like a check list of things that if done, will devalue the bayonet.
Most collectors want a matching S84/98 III bayonet, (means the maker, year and serial number match on blade, scabbard and all parts that were marked with a serial number), with no sharpening to blade. No bent tips or blades. No nicks in blade No corrosion or bad rust on bayonet or scabbard. No bad dents in scabbard. Most of the original blue still intact. I try set 80% as the lowest I will go on original blue left, but that depends on how rare or how bad I want the bayonet. The grips need to be crack and chip free. Plus, they need to be the correct ones for that bayonet (wood or bakelite). More on that later. Any of these things not up to spec will take away from collector value. I deduct $50 for each.
I won`t buy a non-matching or sharpened bayonet. The overall condition matters too. No beat to heck or bad corrosion. I might make some exceptions if the bayonet is a really rare one and the price is right.
Matching S84/98 III are available to be found in mint to near mint condition and on down. Occasionally they are for sale on the Forum Trader and at a few online dealers. As I said before, don`t be afraid to ask questions. Especially before you buy another bayonet.
I am glad you are excited to learn about your new bayonet. I will be frank though, I hope you didn`t pay too much for your bayonet and put some oil on that metal.
 
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