Greetings.I have a Walther PP for sale, and I have a guy who wants to buy it, but he won't buy it unless I can prove that it is war time. Pistols are not my strong point, so I need help dating this pistol. It is a standard PP, there are no markings on it except for the serial number and maker code.

It has a rough war finish, and there is no Walther legend on the left side. The number is 389337 P, and directly below it is the AC maker code. I can find no prood marks anywhere on the gun.Any help that can be offered would be greatly welcomed. Greetings.I have a Walther PP for sale, and I have a guy who wants to buy it, but he won't buy it unless I can prove that it is war time.

From 1978 to 1999, USA Walther PPK/S were manufactured by Ranger Manufacturing in Gadsden Alabama and distributed by Interarms. S prefix serial number, indicates an Interarms, 'Under License of', 'Made in USA' (Ranger Mfg) Stainless PPK/s in.380. If the serial number has no suffix letter, #389xxx is a Manurhin-made.32acp PP made sometime between the late 60's to the mid '70's. (Note: Even if it has German Walther markings, that SN was made by the French and simply shipped over the border for marketing by the Germans.). Some of you may remember the Walther/Manurhin 'Advertising War' of the mid 1980's. The license with Manurhin had expired after Walther had the guns produced here, and the Manurhin company decided to market their 'own' PPK/s pistols. Walther's ads said that ONLY Walther-marked guns were 'genuine'. Walther’s industry-leading innovation takes the spotlight with their PPK model handguns. At the time of its invention over 80 years ago, the PPK inspired an entirely new category in the firearm industry, now widely known as the concealed carry pistol.

Pistols are not my strong point, so I need help dating this pistol. It is a standard PP, there are no markings on it except for the serial number and maker code. It has a rough war finish, and there is no Walther legend on the left side. The number is 389337 P, and directly below it is the AC maker code. I can find no prood marks anywhere on the gun.Any help that can be offered would be greatly welcomed.Your PP was made in or prior to April 1945 according to Deiter Marschal's Walther Pistols. See the Bottom of the attached page(Page 16).Your Pistol should have on the left side behind trigger guard the Eagle over 359 military acceptance stamp and on the right side under the ejection point the eagle over N Proof Mark(See page 112). Hello, i am new to Walther pistols and am buying one with what appears to be a horizontal 'N' with something (crown?) to the right of it, made ca.

What does N mean and the other character?Crow Crown over N stamp shows that the pistol was test fired using ammunition loaded with smokeless gunpowder. It is part of a system that Germany adopted in 1891.NAZI government changed the appearance of various marks.

Walther Pp 22lr Serial Numbers

Crown over N became Eagle over N in 1941.If your PP has Crown over N, then it was made before 1941, otherwise it was made after 1941. Crown over N stamp shows that the pistol was test fired using ammunition loaded with smokeless gunpowder. It is part of a system that Germany adopted in 1891.NAZI government changed the appearance of various marks. Crown over N became Eagle over N in 1941.If your PP has Crown over N, then it was made before 1941, otherwise it was made after 1941.Much obliged for your response.

Walther Ppk Serial Number Year Chart

Any significance to the fact it was made before 1941 and that it has no other mark? What would be a fair price of a pistol of this vintage in 98% condition, in your estimation?

Interarms Ppk Date Of Manufacture

I realize there is an element of subjectivity to this but you appear to be very knowledgeable about these pistols (about which i have admitted i know very little).What resources (internet and books) are out there that might help me improve my knowledge of these pistols since i am about to be the owner of one?Regards and many thanks again, Crow. Much obliged for your response. Any significance to the fact it was made before 1941 and that it has no other mark? What would be a fair price of a pistol of this vintage in 98% condition, in your estimation?

I realize there is an element of subjectivity to this but you appear to be very knowledgeable about these pistols (about which i have admitted i know very little).What resources (internet and books) are out there that might help me improve my knowledge of these pistols since i am about to be the owner of one?Regards and many thanks again, CrowSee this table to determine which year your pistol was made:It is important to realize that Walther made PP for a long time, since 1929. If all you have is just the regular Cown N mark, then most likely you have a pistol made for commercial sales. The next question is how it got to US.I know a little bit about Walther PP because I own three that were made after WW Two by Manuhrin, France under license from Walther. So I know basics, but not an expert.Your best bet is take some photographs and start your own thread. Maybe others will recognize something that you do not know is important. For everybody's information, the post-WW2 serial #s can be found in Dieter Marschall's book on Walthers.

I have one more question though: Being new to Walthers i went ahead and bought a magazine for the.380 Walther i bought but have yet to receive. When i got it i noticed it has a ridge on the left side, while other magazines i see are smooth on both sides. None of the books i have discuss the difference in magazines, nor mention the ridge (elevation) on the side. Can someone explain to me if this means the magazine is for a post WW2 Walther.380, PP or PPK perhaps? There is no doubt that it is for a Walther PP or PPK.

Your help will be appreciated as always. For everybody's information, the post-WW2 serial #s can be found in Dieter Marschall's book on Walthers. I have one more question though: Being new to Walthers i went ahead and bought a magazine for the.380 Walther i bought but have yet to receive. When i got it i noticed it has a ridge on the left side, while other magazines i see are smooth on both sides.

Walther Ppks Serial Number Lookup

None of the books i have discuss the difference in magazines, nor mention the ridge (elevation) on the side. Can someone explain to me if this means the magazine is for a post WW2 Walther.380, PP or PPK perhaps? There is no doubt that it is for a Walther PP or PPK. Your help will be appreciated as always. Like this one? Lotuss, just wondering if you ever found out any info about your pp with a 5 digit SN?

I also have one with 5 digits and the letter 'a'. Cant find info about it anywhere. Thanks.The letter 'A' after the five-digit serial # means that it is a.380 caliber made in France betwee 1954 and 1985. The numbers assigned to the French Co. (Manurhin) were 12003A-78148A. You should be able to place your pistol in this range and determine the approximate date of manufacture. My information comes from Dieter Marschall, Walther Pistols, page 28.Crow.

Hello Larvic. If you check out P38.com you'll probably find the date of production. The Crown over N means commercial.

The military ones have the Waffen proofs? The tiny eagle markings.The PPK/s has the PP sized frame and the PPK slide. These were made due to import regulations. Hope this helps.All WWII PPKs were marked with the Crown over N (C/N) or the Eagle over N (E/N) - (depending on the date produced - roughly speaking pre 1940 and post 1940). Walther was a commercial firm and subject to the German proof laws.German military (Army and Luftwaffe) ones were 'also' marked with E/WaA 359 or E/359.

The ones that went to the SS/RSHA had the required C/N or E/N plus the additional SS/RSHA identifying factors. And what difference: Walther PPK and Walther PPK-S?Thanks,The Walther PPK is the smaller version of the Walther PP.

PP stands for 'polizi pistol' and PPK 'polizi pistol kriminal' (My German sucks!) The PP was for use by the uniformed officer and PPK was for use by dectives who required a smaller pistol. The PPK's frame is smaller and the barrel length shorter, making is a smaller pistol.Back when the 1968 Gun Contol Act was passed, a point system was established to determine if a pistol could be imported into the US. The points were based upon the size of the frames and length of the barrels. It turns out the original PPK didn't have points to be imported but the PP did qualify. So to make a smaller pistol, the importers took the slide from the PPK and put it on the PP frame and this pistol had enough points to be imported. So the PPK/S was born.

The 'S' stood for Special.

The Walther PPK (Polizei Pistole Kriminal) was produced since 1930. It was developed for a hidden carriage. The engineers from Walther reduced the length, width and weight. The main difference to the PP is the frame with no back strap. this function was integrated in a single molded Grip. Also the grip was shortened, so the clip has only a capacity of 7 rounds. The shortness was balanced with a magazine-shoe on the bottom.

The PPK and the PP were also produced very successfully after war. Even James Bond had an Walther PPK.

Technical data:

Production datas (for Wehrmacht only):

The Walther PPK for the Wehrmacht was split in 3 major variations, according to the army acceptance and finish.

1st Variation (Highpolish-Finish with Army Acceptance E/359; approx. 3.500 pieces)

Walther Ppks Serial Number Dates

Characteristics:

Walther Ppk/s Serial Number Date Of Manufacture