What is my Mauser K98k worth?

The German service rifle of the Second World War, brought home in enormous numbers and captured in even greater ones. Codes stamped on the receiver say who made it and when, and whether the numbers still match decides most of the value.

Made 1935–1945.

No page can price your gun, and one that offers to is guessing. What this does is show you which one you have — because that is where the money is.

How to tell which one you have

Read the code and date stamped on the receiver ring, which identify the maker and year.
Check whether the serial numbers on the receiver, bolt, floorplate and stock match.
Look for acceptance stamps and proof marks on the receiver and stock.
Establish whether the rifle is a post-war capture, which were refurbished and force-matched.

The versions that change the number

Version	What it means for value
Matching wartime production 1935–1945	All parts numbered to the rifle. The collectible end by a wide margin.
Capture and refurbishment post-1945	Rebuilt, often with hand-applied numbers and a heavy finish. Common and priced well below matching guns.
Post-war and other national production various	Several countries produced or rebuilt these afterward. A separate market.
Sporterized rifles any	Cut down for hunting, which was routine. Worth real money as a shooter and little as a collectible.

What actually drives the price

Whether the numbers match, before anything else.
Maker code and date, since some are far scarcer than others.
Whether it is an original wartime finish or a post-war refurbishment.
Original stock, unsanded, with its markings intact.

And the two that apply to every gun on this site: do not clean it, and keep the box and papers. Removing original finish is permanent, and on the right gun the packaging is a real part of the total.

"Grandad brought it back, so it must be valuable"

An enormous number of families have exactly that rifle and that story. What decides the number is whether the parts match, what the codes say, and whether it was refurbished afterward. Documentation of the bring-back adds real value; the story on its own adds none.

The numbers are stamped oddly, some look scratched on. What does that mean?

That usually indicates a post-war refurbishment, where mismatched parts were renumbered to the rifle by hand. It is a legitimate and interesting category of its own, and it is worth less than an original matching rifle.

Getting a number for yours

Send photographs and we will tell you what we will pay for it. We buy nationwide — a single firearm ships to us prepaid and insured, and for a collection we come to you. More on what separates one military surplus rifles from another.

Other military surplus rifles models

M1 Garand · M1 Carbine · Mosin-Nagant · M1903 Springfield · Luger P08