This is certainly the rarest and most elusive of the Original Model 98 Mauser Family and it is also the most sought after by advanced collectors with only a small handful able to lay claim to ownership with less than 40 known to exist in the world. In excellent all matching condition we have a 1904 Erfurt Arsenal 2nd pattern Kar.98 Carbine. These carbines were only made for 2 years with less than 20,000 manufactured and very few surviving. This was a very fine and handy little rifle but in 1903 the German Army replaced the old round nose Gew 88 round with the new S round with the Spitzer bullet and the carbine became obsolete overnight as it was too petite and short barreled to be manageable with the new higher powered round. This carbine was replaced in 1907 withe substantially larger Kar.98a which we are all very familiar with. Today finding and example in this top condition is just about impossible.
To add to the allure of this specimen it comes with one of the rarest pieces of German WW1 era equipage the German South West Africa Schutzetruppe Ammuniton Bandoleer, with a rare Kurzes Sawback bayonet and the best part is is Unit marked to the Schutzetruppe and named to a Trooper Müller. As you can well imagine and I cannot understate, the romantic and exotic connotations of going out on patrol in German Colonial Africa as a young trooper with this rifle on a wonderful adventure are fascinating. As far as WWI era German Martial Arms collecting go I could not imagine a rarer setup than this!
