Is the whole matching serial number thing overblown?

As a collector of US military rifles which I have a couple in my collection I can tell you collecting k98k rifles to me is a lot more enjoyable and far more interesting.

To be honest a lot of the US military rifle collection groups or clubs that I have belong to over the years have disappointed me greatly and that is why I no longer belong to them anymore. I asked a big US military M1 collector what is the difference in price between a restored corrected rifle compared to an original rifle? He plainly said does it matter. He even looked at a really nice 1945 dated in M1 rifle that I owned in my collection it is all original with all original parts. But the bolt is a very early 1945 made part he told me that part needs swapped out. I plainly asked why it matches the wear and finish color of the overall rifle? Because it's not a 1944 made part lol!

Regardless if it's the original part in the rifle that flat out told me a lot of US military collectors don't even care about originality they just correct a rifle but when it's sold it will be passed off as original not restored.
 
I'm pretty new here and I don't think I've seen many collectors scoffing at non-matching numbers, what seems to get people pissed are people trying to pass off rifles as original when they've been faked. No one is going to stroke your ego on here by the looks of it.

From a practical standpoint, no I don't think matching numbers matters. For the most part, the parts were interchangeable, the gun will still function if parts don't match. I have a non-matching K98, most of the numbers match besides the magazine floor plate, safety, striker and firing pin. Maybe they were swapped in the field? Or more likely, someone stateside lost the original parts in the bolt after disassembling it...who knows. What's odd though is the magazine seems correct...but that's besides the point. I keep meaning to post a picture but daylight runs out quick and that usually gives the best lighting. It's nothing rare but, I'm happy with my rifle.

A matching numbers rifle gives you a good representation of what the rifle would've looked like out of the factory and that demands a premium, rifles during war get used hard and parts get lost or replaced. At the very least the finish gets worn and the stock gets dinged up. To have say, an early or mid war example that survived the war intact from the factory. It's not only a walking time capsule but also it's almost like a form of reference. You can see how the original finish would've looked like and it is, well frankly, living history.

No one is forcing you to buy an all numbers matching that's the beauty of the hobby. I see people selling RC K98s and no one is going in the comments scoffing at them. RCs are fine shooters just don't claim they are as collectible as a GI bringback. I'm leery of owning an all numbers matching personally as I'd baby it too much but, I'll probably get one someday.
 
Sebastian21 said:
A all matched rifle is how it left the factory and , unless it has been fooled with, is generally safe to shoot. A mismatch rifle you do not know. People say they are shooters. That may or not be true. Is the headspace correct? Is the firing pin protrusion correct? Is the sear engagement correct? Does the safety hold? These have to be checked before you shoot it. Some say it is just a wall hanger. So you have a chunk of wood and metal that does not work. All firearms with matching parts are always worth more because they are in factory condition and in general work as designed. Mismatched mauser c96 broomhandles seldom work hence are worth a fraction of a matched gun. So in my opinion matched guns are more collectible then a gun with a mixture of unproven parts.
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I agree, but generally it's safe to shoot RC ones, because it was indented for their own use believe it or not.
 
Great comments in this thread, very representative of what I see daily, unlike the op’s view in the initial thread. He’ll, I have mismatched junk rifles myself, I love those too.


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mrfarb said:
Great comments in this thread, very representative of what I see daily, unlike the op’s view in the initial thread. He’ll, I have mismatched junk rifles myself, I love those too.


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My RC is in original refurbished condition, that has to count for something! Lol :laugh:

All joking aside, I really like my RC. I kept the red shellac on the stock and left the rifle as is. I like the look of it and I believe captured rifles have a special place in collection. One day it might be difficult finding an example of a RC rifle, a lot of people cleaned theirs up and removed the shellac.
 
I have 1 rc in original trim.


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mrfarb said:
Just to explain my curt explanation, I’ve seen this thread dozens of times. Once someone has this attitude you will never convince them to change their mind. I’m simply cutting to the quick and saving us all a bunch of effort. The OP has a negative view of Mauser collectors, probably had it when he came here. Usually stems from buying a mismatched gun or project gun and then being upset nobody has passion about it like he feels is warranted. Maybe not the exact case but it’s usually predicated by some similar event. He’ll either eventually come around and understand Mauser collecting or will forever talk bad about them to his usgi collector friends.


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I showed my forced match yugo capture and it was still appreciated here. I haven't had any trouble from this community for having a non matching. Seems like everything k98 is appreciated here
 
Shor said:
I showed my forced match yugo capture and it was still appreciated here. I haven't had any trouble from this community for having a non matching. Seems like everything k98 is appreciated here
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I liked that rifle too, it’s all a valid part of the item’s history which makes each one unique. So long as it’s legitimate, it is all A-okay and interesting. It’s a great hobby, it also makes your wallet empty and your girlfriend/wife angry.... you only live once.
 
Shor said:
I showed my forced match yugo capture and it was still appreciated here. I haven't had any trouble from this community for having a non matching. Seems like everything k98 is appreciated here
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Exactly, every variant, assuming it hasn't been sporterized tells a story of the K98s history either during the war or post WWII. Yugo and RCs are really interesting, some RCs were sent over to the Vietnam War and Yugo captures were used by Yugoslavia post war and sent as aid to other countries. East German K98s and even post war Czech K98s are pretty cool too.

I would be stoked to have a Yugo captured K98 used in the Yugoslav Wars of the 90s. Skip to 20 secs and you'll see one in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cmDk4aOWEQ
 
Herk1994 said:
I liked that rifle too, it’s all a valid part of the item’s history which makes each one unique. So long as it’s legitimate, it is all A-okay and interesting. It’s a great hobby, it also makes your wallet empty and your girlfriend/wife angry.... you only live once.
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My wife and I have a deal. Whatever amount she spends at the mall or out shopping I can spend on my collection lol. It should be the other way around, whatever I spend she gets the same amount to shop, she would have a lot more shopping trips if it was like that :laugh:
 
BishopofBling said:
Exactly, every variant, assuming it hasn't been sporterized tells a story of the K98s history either during the war or post WWII. Yugo and RCs are really interesting, some RCs were sent over to the Vietnam War and Yugo captures were used by Yugoslavia post war and sent as aid to other countries. East German K98s and even post war Czech K98s are pretty cool too.

I would be stoked to have a Yugo captured K98 used in the Yugoslav Wars of the 90s. Skip to 20 secs and you'll see one in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cmDk4aOWEQ
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Mine was one of the ones sold to ethiopia. I got lucky that it was in good condition considering I took the RTI gamble. But that's what I figured. The only thing sporter related that I like to see personally is the ones that are unbubba'd
 
Shor said:
Mine was one of the ones sold to ethiopia. I got lucky that it was in good condition considering I took the RTI gamble. But that's what I figured. The only thing sporter related that I like to see personally is the ones that are unbubba'd
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You ever plan on posting your example? K98s sent as aid to Ethiopia is another part of that rifles history.

I contemplated getting one from RTI but I found one locally for a little more money so I decided to get that one. $1,000 was just too much to gamble on for me.

I picked up one of their M1 Carbines before they raised the price and I paid the basic $900, and I got a Winchester post-WWII rebuild in pretty good condition which I felt was fair but I'm hesitant on picking up any rifle whose only available ammunition at the time was corrosive ammo as judging by customer reviews the Ethiopians did not maintain their rifles.
 
BishopofBling said:
I'm pretty new here and I don't think I've seen many collectors scoffing at non-matching numbers, what seems to get people pissed are people trying to pass off rifles as original when they've been faked. No one is going to stroke your ego on here by the looks of it.

From a practical standpoint, no I don't think matching numbers matters. For the most part, the parts were interchangeable, the gun will still function if parts don't match. I have a non-matching K98, most of the numbers match besides the magazine floor plate, safety, striker and firing pin. Maybe they were swapped in the field? Or more likely, someone stateside lost the original parts in the bolt after disassembling it...who knows. What's odd though is the magazine seems correct...but that's besides the point. I keep meaning to post a picture but daylight runs out quick and that usually gives the best lighting. It's nothing rare but, I'm happy with my rifle.

A matching numbers rifle gives you a good representation of what the rifle would've looked like out of the factory and that demands a premium, rifles during war get used hard and parts get lost or replaced. At the very least the finish gets worn and the stock gets dinged up. To have say, an early or mid war example that survived the war intact from the factory. It's not only a walking time capsule but also it's almost like a form of reference. You can see how the original finish would've looked like and it is, well frankly, living history.

No one is forcing you to buy an all numbers matching that's the beauty of the hobby. I see people selling RC K98s and no one is going in the comments scoffing at them. RCs are fine shooters just don't claim they are as collectible as a GI bringback. I'm leery of owning an all numbers matching personally as I'd baby it too much but, I'll probably get one someday.
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Contrary to popular belief, the Germans never quite attained interchangeability between manufacturers, which is the reason for numbering as many parts as it was practical to do so. On occasion they do interchange, but not always.
 
Herk1994 said:
I liked that rifle too, it’s all a valid part of the item’s history which makes each one unique. So long as it’s legitimate, it is all A-okay and interesting. It’s a great hobby, it also makes your wallet empty and your girlfriend/wife angry.... you only live once.
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I was dating a girl in the summer who told me if things got more serious between us I would need to curb my collecting. Needless to say...she is not my girlfriend anymore.

Also, matching numbers/originality does matter. We are all here I suspect because of the historical resonance of these rifles...not just cause we like mauser 98s. If that was the case then it being a K98k or M48 or VZ24 wouldn't make difference to us. These rifles provide a link to an incredibly important time in our collective history. In that sense they are historical artifacts as much as they are firearms. Therefore, the more completely and original the rifle the stronger that link is.
 
BishopofBling said:
You ever plan on posting your example? K98s sent as aid to Ethiopia is another part of that rifles history.

I contemplated getting one from RTI but I found one locally for a little more money so I decided to get that one. $1,000 was just too much to gamble on for me.

I picked up one of their M1 Carbines before they raised the price and I paid the basic $900, and I got a Winchester post-WWII rebuild in pretty good condition which I felt was fair but I'm hesitant on picking up any rifle whose only available ammunition at the time was corrosive ammo as judging by customer reviews the Ethiopians did not maintain their rifles.
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https://www.k98kforum.com/showthread.php?43604-Mismatched-Yugo-Capture It actually only cost me $450 but in a way it has costed me way more. It started my addiction to mausers and milsurp so really it has cost me thousands at this point.
 
DukeIronHand said:
So I wonder. To me every gun has a story and rich history - some more interesting then others of course. Am I the only one who thinks the “all matching obsession” is overblown and proving detrimental to the hobby or do I need more coffee? Sure it’s a preference but does it deserve its own altar?
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You need a matching K98 to quash this ressentiment.
 
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