PPK/S Question

Hey guys, kinda excited about my Walther/Manurhin
.380/9mm Kurz I inherited from my grandfather. The pistol was made in France and on the barrel itself is marked with a crown and ST ETIENNE with Manurhin International out of Alexandria VA. The serial number is 266170S. Everything is oringinal, along with the two magazines.

Did a little research online and from what I read this would be a post WWII pistol as it was manufactured in France.

I probably should have researched the pistol before I went to my local gun store, but I wanted to see if the gun "experts" knew anything about it. The guy said because it was made in France it was basically crap and cheap. I think he said it would be worth about $100. Then he asked if I wanted to sell it and I said no. Then he asked if I wanted to do a straight up trade for one of the new semi's. I was like, wtf? So I declined and left as this guy didn't seem honest to me.

Anyway I bought a ton of ammo and I'm looking forward to going to the range next week. I believe that this pistol is worth much more than $100 as its very solid, for the age there is no dents or discoloration, and its heavy so I know its not cheap metal or plastic parts.

I guess if anyone has any additional information on the type of pistol I have and if its "real" that would be awesome. Not exactly sure how old it is, but my grandfather probably bought it on the 70's or 80's I guess. Hopefully the serial number helps out.

I read somewhere that all of the Walther PPK's were made in France, that the only difference was that the ones not marked made in France were proofed in Germany. There are a few threads out there on the internet that seem to support that.

I'm not sure if this link will work for you, but you should be able to run a google search and come up with it.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=299130

Remember that gun dealers are still businessmen and at the end of the day they're still out to make a profit. Not that there aren't great dealers out there, but your average shop's not going to be honest with you.

Have fun with your PPK though, I'd hold on to it since it's a family heirloom of sorts.

Walthers were made in France for a few years before the production was taken over by Interarms in the US. It is a "real" Walther in the sense that it was made under their licensing. Most collectors go after the W. German ones or war/pre-war guns. I have an early US production Interarms PPK/S S#0012XX and absolutely love it. The early Interarms guns had a high polish blue that you only see on guns like Colt Pythons. I have to admit that I don't really look at the french ones but that's a personal bias due to the french themselves. I had a co-worker with a stainless Manurhin and he really liked it. That said the new production Smith/Walthers seem to be very unreliable. We've had at least five go back that I can recall.

All in all if the gun is in trashed condition but still functions you're looking about $250-$300. Excellent $400-$550 depending on condition and box/papers. The guy at the gun store was clearly trying to "steal" it from you. It's a common tactic in alot of guns stores, they do have to make money after all. A fair price from a dealer would be about $200-$300 depending on condition, box/papers, etc.

Next time go in and say that your buddy was looking at buying it from you and you wanted to make sure he was getting it at a fair price. The whole "I don't want to rape him but don't want to lose my shirt on the deal" line. Be clear the only reason you're selling it is because your buddy wants it REALLY bad. This kind of thing happens ALOT. Many places will give you better info if they don't have any shot of picking it up.

Other good places for market vale on guns are...

www.gunbroker.com
www.gunsamerica.com

Though don't look at the active auctions, look at past auctions and see what they actually sold for. Just cuz a guy has a Sig up for $1500 doesn't mean it's worth that.

GlockMeisterG21 said:

All in all if the gun is in trashed condition but still functions you're looking about $250-$300. Excellent $400-$550 depending on condition and box/papers. The guy at the gun store was clearly trying to "steal" it from you. It's a common tactic in alot of guns stores, they do have to make money after all. A fair price from a dealer would be about $200-$300 depending on condition, box/papers, etc.

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I concur! Particularly with the low-ball $100 off from the gun store. That was just gross, and definately not one you should ever trust.

My father has one, although his is from Interarms, so not quite the heirloom or antiquity value. Nice gun, whether from Interarms, France, or Germany. I had a slight problem with the extraction pin a while back. Quick trip to the gunsmith set it straight.