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German Gewehr K43 Magazine Help

Discussion in 'Weapons' started by Czar, May 19, 2014.

  1. Czar

    Czar New Member

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    I found what appears to be a German Gewehr K43 ten round magazine amongst my grandfather's things. He served in WWII and may have taken this off a German soldier, as we never had this gun. I would like help identifying the markings, I can't seem to find an exact match anywhere. I've been told that it was manufactured at the height of WWII in 1944-1945, and that it is rare because it still works perfectly and has not been modified in anyway (i.e. to conform with hunting laws).

    Is K43 more rare than G43?
    Is this good condition for a magazine that is 70 years old?
    What would one go for IF we decided to sell it?


    Any and all help would be appreciated,

    Czar
     
  2. Takao

    Takao Ace

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    You need to work on your Google-Fu. Google brings up several returns for K43 magazine, AVX.

    To answer some of you questions.

    It is rare because AVX (Südmetall AG) magazines are scarce finds.

    No the Gewehr 43 and the Karabiner 43 are the same rifle, the Germans instituted a name change because the G43 was roughly the same size as the Karabiner 98k, and as such the Gewehr(long rifle) was considered inappropriate.
     
  3. George Patton

    George Patton Canadian Refugee

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    That magazine was made by Südmetall AG, one of the less common manufacturers. The most common ones are stamped "aye" (Olympia Buromaschinenwerke AG).

    They're the same thing. In 1944 the designation was changed from "G43" to "K43". I believe the total production of "G43s" was lower than "K43s", but I haven't seen any difference in value.

    Appears so. Its kind of hard to tell, but it looks like a lot of the bluing has been worn off. This effects the value, but functionally in looks to be in excellent condition. I can't see any rust or pitting.

    Depends on the country you're in. Here in Canada they go for around the 150-200 range. I imagine they go for about the same in the US, but I don't know for sure. Assuming the bluing is worn, it would go for the low end of this range. There's nothing really "rare" about it.
     
  4. Czar

    Czar New Member

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    Thank you for the excellent info so far, I was confused because I saw some K43 and G43 magazines selling for around $100 at the low end and almost identical magazines (markings and condition) that sell for $500 on the same site in the same time period. I didn't know if having AYE or having a G43 or something made a huge difference.
     
  5. George Patton

    George Patton Canadian Refugee

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    What website? If I had to guess, I'd say the 100 dollar ones are likely reproductions. The well-made ones are hard to distinguish between. 100 dollars seems low for any original K43 magazine, but then again I'm not very familiar with the US market.
     
  6. Skipper

    Skipper Kommodore

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    Note the Waffenamt number A204 . These were added by the controllers.
     
  7. Czar

    Czar New Member

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    Skipper, after looking up the Waffenamt number, I found that it was made by "Südmetall AG" in "Mussbach a.d. Weinstr." I am unfamiliar with this company, but apparently it was located in what is now Rhineland-Palatinate, which is a state in South West Germany that borders France. I know the Rhine was tremendously important during WWII, was this factory set up in the heart of where the fighting was? Would this tell me exactly when it was made?
     

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