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WTK: P38 CYQ "Z" block ??? need evaluation ASAP

ajmdreammg42

Active member
Guys, Just came home with this. no date on it cyq in the "Z" block ALL matching is seems at a quick go over.. please give your best guess for the value cause seller has 3 more exactly the same (Z block) but black grips. Need to know if I should attempt to get the others before he sells them to someone else. THANKS !!!
 

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Can you take some photos of the locking block and trigger springs? Looks like its a Russian dip.

Check for import marks in weird locations on the front grip strap and the tang area.
 
No import marks anywhere and about %100 sure not a reblue
 

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Russian dip is not reblued. It looks dipped to me as well, not all had X marks or even import marks. The locking block pin is usually the best place to look as it’s hard to clean it properly. The lack of paint in f and s is also a sign.

But in hand is the best method as pics can be deceiving. Grips look like Walther grips as well.
 
locking block pin still in the white. No red paint in the F but white paint in the S mint bore, Anything special about this one ? there is no date near the CVQ so is this end of the war 45 production correct ? any close guesstimates on its value ? want to know whats a good deal on this . paid $800 for this one but seller thinks he can get more for the others- Like $1500 each !
 

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Compared it to a known Russian capture (1st and on the bottom of the second pic) that has been reblued or "dipped" I am still thinking this z block is original finish. came out of a 50+ year old collection. I am not a top expert on these but most of the time I can tell if a gun has been refinished or not
 

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That’s a good price for it. Yes, Z block is 1945 production. Not the most valuable but a cool one to have with cog hammer and cvq marking.
 
I don't think it has been reblued or dipped. Occasionally you will see locking block pins, blocks and springs blued from Spreewerk. Nothing unusual there. You have to look for other telltale signs of dip...like the sear. Should never be blued (tends to turn more of a brown on the Russian dips).
The grips (from what I can make out) are a mixture of Walther and Posselt grips. The left side is definitely a Posselt grip panel, and right looks to be Walther or maybe AEG.
If you paid $800 for it, I'd say you made off well. Really depends (a LOT) what the other guns look like. To get up into the $1500 range, there are a number of factors involving Spreewerks. Typically, you have to get into the early (no-letter block) or later guns (zero series a/b-prefix) to start drawing that kind of money. Flat mint guns may draw that kind of money if they're early or late (excluding the one-off auctions). But Spreewerk guns can be kind of a mixed bag of auction prices. There are a lot of little weird oddities to Spreewerks that can attract collector interest, like the backwards 'c' block pistols, or the FN frame pistols in the 'x' block, or the upside down or sideways 'cyq' stamping...

BTW, what magazine came with it and what kind of condition is it in?

Really have to see some good pics of these other three to tell you anything else.
 
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Sorry for the late response, been out of town due to a death in the family. Thanks Gringo for the info. I will see if the guy even has those p38's left, haven't talked to him in a couple weeks. The P38 z block I just got came with a jvd with a WaA706 ? under eagle stamp. Is that correct for this one ? I also ended up getting a zip lock bag full of about 15 P38 magazines I have to go threw yet but did notice majority of them are wartime issue.
 
Post up the other mags when you get time...we'll tell you what you have.

Or you can go here to get an idea.

 
Ok the single mag is to the CYQ z block. The 15 mags was in that zip lock bag I got. I tried to write down all the info on them on the sheet of paper
 

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Pretty much all E/359 mags are Walther, all E135 mags are Mauser. The lone E/88 magazine is strictly for Spreewerk pistols. The E/359 magazines will go to various makes/date of Walthers depending on where it is marked and how. All of the E135 magazines will again go to Mauser P38's, but again, depending on where it is marked and how it is marked, you could have some real early, mid-war or later magazines.

The jvd magazines were used by all three makers. They were issued with Spreewerk pistols almost exclusively by late 1943/early 1944. They were also issued with later Walther and Mauser pistols.

Remember, some magazines were marked post-war with serial numbers, or may have had parts swapped around. Like the second one on your list shows 'P38v' with what appears to be an SN on the floorplate. That floorplate is likely either from an earlier Walther pistol or a post-war number.

Using the web-site as a 'guide', here is basically what you have. I am not a Walther or Mauser magazine guru, so there are other sources like the P38 web-site and the book on P38 Magazines & Grips by Clarin/Roth/DeVlieger that may have updated info though. I believe this is going to be about 98% correct. There may be a couple of other pistols in the mix that the same magazines will be proper for, but that is somewhat trivial info. Magazines in the P38 world have their own cult following, so someone may be along to correct me. Most of these are fairly common, except for the very first one. The early Zero Series Walther magazines are very difficult to find alone. Most of these magazines would sell pretty easily in the $125-150 range depending on condition. P38 mags pic 1.jpg
 
Thank you VERY MUCH for doing this. I am going to go threw all my P38's now and see what is correct and after wards might sell a few extra magazines
 

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