I'm trying to help my FIL put a price on a model ac43. I've scanned thru this forum as well as a few others, looked at Gunbroker sales, etc., and the price of these isall over the map. I've seen them from $500 to $2k+. I didn't know until I began researching this that there were Russian imports polluting the market. I'm about 99% sure it's not one of those as I personally knew the man who brought it back from Germany before he passed about 10-12 years ago. He never saw combat but was instead doing repairs on military vehicles.

Besides the overall shape of the pistol, what increases/decreases the value in such a wide range? Considering what it is it's in pretty good shape. I actually fired the gun several years ago and it's a nice shooter. Slide, barrel, and frame all match and there's no rust that I see. I don't know if there's such a thing as a matching mag but if so no joy. It does not have an original holster either.

He's getting up there in age and is considering selling it and I'd like to make sure he gets what it's worth, and for the right price I may buy it. I'd like to be fair about it as he's done a lot for me over the years and I'm not interested in stealing it from him. What are the details that I'm missing? What I should be looking for? What differentiates a $500 gun from $2k gun?

Any advice is appreciated.

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Take the barrel off and see if the last three digits of the serial number are on the locking block. The condition of that gun is gonna hurt the value though.
ETA: This is a $2000 P-38. Police marked and in 99.9% condition.

If I liked the guy that much, I would offer on the high side just to take care of him.

I've never taken the pistol apart and didn't know there was another # inside I should be looking for, I'll do that next opportunity I have.

The one you showed is a Luger vs. Walther, or so I understand. Is one or the other, in general, more valuable? What are the "police markings" you refer to?

The roll marks on the right side of the slide on this particular gun aren't very well defined. Not because they've been worn away, just never there it appears. You can see them but only know what they are from pictures of others that were better stamped.

The locking black you will see no problem, it should be in the white. The gun I posted is a Mauser, not a Luger. The police markings on the right side is the Eagle L proof. There were far more P-38's produced for the army than the police which of course makes them more valuable.
AC= Walther
byf=Mauser
cyq=Spreewerk

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Sounds like I need to capture the pistol long enough to take it apart, clean, document, and most of all get better pictures than my cell phone will take. It will be several weeks before I see him again but I'll be back. I'm not convinced it doesn't have the Eagle L mark but I can't tell from what I have.

I am by far no expert in P38's.  I do own a AC43 as well.  It would be hard to gauge the value of the gun from what you've said and the one photo.  Some things needed to give you a better idea of value:


More and better photos, especially of the proofs, and to see the overall condition of the gun (amount of bluing left)

Are all number parts matching?

Is the magazine(s) serial number matching the gun, or at least a period correct mag?

What's the condition of the bore?


You can look on Simpson Ltd to get an idea of what an AC43 P38 goes for.  A gun like that on Simpson could go for about $700-$900.  I'm not saying that's the value of this gun, or what you should pay.

As noted above, having all the numbers match is important.  A non matching pistol will be worth about half as much, and that's true for both the P.38 and the earlier P.08 Luger (regardless of the pattern).

Matching number magazines don't actually add that much value, although sellers with matching magazine want a premium for the pistol.

On a P.38 different grip styles appeared based on who made the pistol and when it was produced, and the correct grips are important and will add to the value.  Your pictures are too fuzzy to tell what you actually have, in terms of the 4 digit serial number and suffix code.  The suffix code can be used to determine fairly closely when it was made, and if you post the serial number and suffix code, I can tell you when it was probably produced within a month or so.

Walther made "AC" marked pistols tend to bring slightly more than Mauser made "byf" marked pistols, which in turn bring slightly more than the "cyq" marked Spreewerk pistols.

If you have the actual bring back paperwork with the pistol that will increase the value a lot, as it establishes a provenance for the pistol which has a great deal of appeal for a collector.

As it looks right now, the finish and condition isn't bad, and it would easily be a $750 to $800 pistol.  Pretty much any shootable wartime produced P.38 in very good condition will bring at least $500, just for it's value as a shooter.   The post war P.38s with alloy frames and the later P.1 marked pistols tend to bring a lot less money unless they have a very solid and collectible provenance, and you can still get an alloy framed post war P.38 or P.1 in excellent condition for not much over $400.

Reviving this thread... My FIL had a bad fall just before Memorial Day and has been declining since. I've finally talked him into selling everything to me though most of it is crap. But included was a pristine Ruger Single Six 3 screw with original box and extra cylinder as well as this P38. Enough of that, this isn't the correct forum...

I need to get it cleaned up but I've now taken the gun apart and confirmed the last 3 digits on the locking block match. The magazines don't appear to match though. One is marked P38 near the bottom and the other is marked "jvd" about 1/4 of the way up on the side. I don't know which is or isn't genuine or aftermarket.

I can provide any other pictures you need to assist but I'm a crappy photographer. A better picture of the right side markings is below. The gun really does look almost as good as the picture P08 posted above. The only wear is slight and it is a result of putting it in a homemade holster that was made by the guy that brought it back.

Thanks for your help.

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Magazines on P-38's were not numbered aside from early Walther guns. JVD is the mag manufacturers code, I believe it is for Walther?

One of my AC 43's.