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Greetings all. I have had this 1971 Walther stainless .32 PPK, (I think), for a while, but have really struggled to determine its value. I am not sure I have actually found this exact same model in my many searches, but I could have just typed in the wrong search words. :) I have been told as low as $400 and and high as $1500, so I am really at a loss on this one. Oh yeah, everything functions as intended. Any help from you Walther experts out there for this newbie, would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

20230319_115418.jpg 20230319_115428.jpg 20230319_115441.jpg
 
If you use Gunbroker they have the ability to look up completed sales for the past year. Thats where I would start. Look in those completed sales for a like model and in the same condition. Also look carefully at the NRA grading system. Good Luck DR
 
Definitely looks like a PPK/S. An Interarms imported model. I checked on Genitron, but it doesn't show the Interarms imports, only the PP models and SW licensed PPK models. GB or Guns America etc. under recently sold should show more as previously mentioned. Condition grade as well as having any factory components like the box, spare mag, test targets etc. also help with valuation.
 
You look to have a PPK/s, a PPK would have grips that form the majority of the back strap. The PPK/s was created to meet the required points for the import requirements of '68. The PPK/s has the taller grip of the PP combined with the barrel/slide length of the PPK. As you can see in your photos the back strap is solid metal and pistol is fitted with slab grips similar to a 1911 Colt.
As yours has German proof marks that would eliminate it from USA production and stainless steel PPK/s's were only produced in the USA. Based on the year and country (Germany) of manufacture and the yellowish hue in the pictures I would expect it to be a nickel finish.
Good info

difference

This image shows a PPK note the grip wraps around around in the rear and the absence of back strap on frame.
walther_ppk3.jpg
 
Thank you all very much for the info! Very good to know it is a PPK/s. I continue to look on GunBroker and other sites and still have not found this model. Heck, I have not even been able to find it in numerous searches in just images. The search continues. :)
 
might be just the photo, but I can't make out any of the roll marks that should be on the left side of the slide- do you have a better pic ?
 
I have attached a couple more pics, and that is actually what as been throwing me the most...The fact that there are no markings on the one side. (Although, I am still having trouble finding any comparable 1971 models in .32 caliber.) The next time I take it down, I will measure both sides of the slide to see if there is much difference. Probably should be at least .010" if someone ground off the roll marks. (Though I am not sure what their tolerances were on the slide to begin with.)
Thank you again!!!

20230321_062453.jpg 20230321_062459.jpg
 
Those added photos clearly show the left side of the slide was resurfaced (poorly) prior to being nickel plated. End result is any collector value has been destroyed and unfortunately leaves this as a shooter / carry gun. Unfortunately with the typical price of .32 acp it would be hard to justify as a plinker.
 
Love this. It's something you have to seriously consider whether or not you like it enough to see it go away for whatever it's devalued from that finish modification. Are you considering trading or selling it?
 
Those added photos clearly show the left side of the slide was resurfaced (poorly) prior to being nickel plated. End result is any collector value has been destroyed and unfortunately leaves this as a shooter / carry gun. Unfortunately with the typical price of .32 acp it would be hard to justify as a plinker.
I plink with a .32 ACP VZ61 regularly, it's readily available online for decent prices. Local shops want 60 cents a round... ouch. I can get it for $19 a box online.
 
It just doesn't move as quick for volume sales. The store price for our favorite weird calibers includes shelf space and the time it spends on the shelf demands a premium on its share in rent haha.
I get hosed on Makarov.
 
You've got to wonder why someone would remove the identifying roll marks as part of the refinishing process. I'm aware that some Walther markings are fairly light, photoengraved probably. Maybe by the time they got done polishing, they were somewhat indistinct and it was decided to go all the way.
 
1680034646949.png

"...with a delivery like a brick through a plate glass window." From "Dr. No" starring Sean Connery as James Bond.

So why would anyone extoll the potency of the 32 ACP? Per the novels, James Bond's original gun was a Beretta 418 chambered in 25 ACP. By comparison the 32 ACP would be more potent. Ian Fleming was a real life Intelligence Officer and some reports said he actually carried the 25 ACP Beretta in WWII. Geoffrey Boothroyd, who was a real-life firearms expert, became a fan of the novels and advised Fleming that his Bond character should carry the PPK instead. Fleming took the advice and so appreciated it the armorer character in Dr. No was named after Boothroyd.
 
You've got to wonder why someone would remove the identifying roll marks as part of the refinishing process. I'm aware that some Walther markings are fairly light, photoengraved probably. Maybe by the time they got done polishing, they were somewhat indistinct and it was decided to go all the way.
I've seen more than one pistol that had one perfect side and one rusty side due to improper storage.
 
You look to have a PPK/s, a PPK would have grips that form the majority of the back strap. The PPK/s was created to meet the required points for the import requirements of '68. The PPK/s has the taller grip of the PP combined with the barrel/slide length of the PPK. As you can see in your photos the back strap is solid metal and pistol is fitted with slab grips similar to a 1911 Colt.
As yours has German proof marks that would eliminate it from USA production and stainless steel PPK/s's were only produced in the USA. Based on the year and country (Germany) of manufacture and the yellowish hue in the pictures I would expect it to be a nickel finish.
Good info

difference

This image shows a PPK note the grip wraps around around in the rear and the absence of back strap on frame.
View attachment 1386950
To expand on this BS...
https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/form/factoring-criteria-weapons-atf-form-4590/download
 
I've seen more than one pistol that had one perfect side and one rusty side due to improper storage.
I've seen that on some war time pistols. One side perfect, turn it over, complete disaster. P.38's with those flat sides, usually the left side that sits against the inside of the holster.

Blood rust on wartime guns was also a terrible thing for condition. The salt in blood is highly corrosive.

Years ago, I had a Polish VIS P.35 with shrapnel pock marks on the right side. I wondered what the wearer's body must've looked like.

But we don't expect this kind of thing on a 1971 Walther PPk/S, but of course it's certainly possible for civilians to damage guns through neglect.

One more anecdote. One time, I saw some long guns that had spent years sitting in a closet. The closet had been next to a bathroom with leaking plumbing; for years water had migrated into the carpet in the closed. The wood in the butts of the long guns was rotten on every one.
 

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