Russian captured (RC) Mauser K98k rifle made by J.P. Sauer & Sohn in 1941 (CE 41 split code).

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Op.74: "The Philosophers"
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Like hundreds of thousands of other K98k Mausers, this rifle was captured by the Russians on the Eastern Front during WW2. To be more exact, the C E 41 marking on the receiver tells us the barreled action was made in 1941 by J.P. Sauer & Sohn in Suhl (Germany). After the original rifle was captured by the Soviets sometime between 1941 and 1945, it was put into storage for a decade before undergoing a vast refurbishment program in the 1950s, at the height of the Cold War: K98k Mausers were broken down into batches to their basic components and their parts inspected for functionality. Every functioning metal part was then reblued a dark almost paint-like finish and the stocks were crudely brushed with red shellac. After this process the rifles were reassembled with no regard to matching numbers and tested for functionality. If the rifle functioned with no issue, it was then force matched. This was done by crudely scribbling the serial number of the barreled action onto various parts of the rifle with an electro-pencil. The serial number was also stamped into the rear section of the stock. The final addition to the rifle was an X stamped into the left side of the receiver. This showed it had passed inspection and was from now on Soviet property. (www.warrelics.eu/forum/world-...)
The prices of RC K98k Mausers have considerably gone up in recent years, as the once abundant supplies of Russian captured Mausers eventually dried up.