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CYQ P38

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My first WWII pistol purchase, this would be the one that sent me down the rabbit hole. Correct me if I am wrong but here goes my analysis: Spreewerk, April 44 manufacture date, numbers matching 4468 0(including locking block), e88 proofs on left side of barrel & frame, 2 on the right side of slide with acceptance mark. The question I have is what is the 511(3rd pic from bottom) center above the grip frame, left side?

What are your thoughts on condition(looking for honesty, you wont hurt my feelings, it was too cheap not to buy)? I am not much good at figuring % blue, id call it 50-70%. Taking pics trying to focus on the markings is not for the faint of heart.

As for the magazine. Proper ENM welds on left, presumably no other markings. See pics below, there is an e88 but it is so small it shouldnt count, center bottom.
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Decent enough pistol. Your analysis is correct. The number under the grip (511) is referred to by long time P38 collectors as the ULG (Under the Left Grip) number. No one knows what it really means, but it has been surmised to have been a number to track the frame through production. The ULG numbers didn't start until early 1943 and presumably by that time they had been in production long enough that perhaps some frames had gone 'missing'.

As you noted, nothing really unusual about it. No big glaring wear or flaws. The E/88 mag goes with an earlier pistol, but it is 'correct' for a Spreewerk. Magazine looks like it has been cleaned up a bit based on the scratches all over it. If you look at the right side of the barrel (the one thing you didn't show a picture of), you will see a letter/number combination, something like 'B7'...that is the lot number of the barrel.
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Right now it's a collectible pistol. I know it's tempting to shoot it, but if you do, and you bust the slide, you then have a $300 paperweight. There are plenty of post war guns that will provide the same experience.

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I only collect Spreewerk P38's and it really has nothing to do with the price (for me). They are the most unusual of the makers because of all the little oddities, strange marks and unusual machining finishes. I only collect the really early (no-letter-series) and really late (1945) pistols. They are quite different to be sure.

Your Spreewerk fact for the day: did you know that the first 500 pistols contained 7 or 8 parts that were marked with an Eagle/359 stamping? Because Spreewerk had not been a dedicated weapons manufacturer, Walther technicians were on hand along with Walther supplied small parts (slide lock, trigger, magazine catch, top cover, sear, magazine catch, hammer strut & grips) to aide in the production startup. Less than 30 of the first 500 have been accounted for.

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