The German Gewehr-Prüfungskommission (G.P.K.) (Rifle Testing Commission) adopted the Gewehr 98 on 5 April 1898. The Gewehr 98 itself was the latest in a line of Mauser rifles that were introduced in the 1890s.
The bolt-action design used for the Gewehr 98 was patented by Paul Mauser on 9 September 1895. The Gewehr 98, named for 1898, the first year of its manufacture, superseded the earlier Gewehr 1888 in German service.
#Authentic mauser gewehr 98 serial
I suspect the owner knows the block (letter under numeric serial on the receiver), but it can't be narrowed any further with what is shown, but it is a Danzig/17. It is a Danzig/17, could range between o-block through oo-block, but not into 1918 in all probability. best guess based upon this meager and incomplete view, it is probably" Danzig/17, probably very late after the cc-block if so, but this is really a an exercise in guessing and the FP/serial and clear RR is almost always enough to tell what the top/maker is. the first and third acceptance do not look proper for a Danzig, but they could be partials acceptance as they share some characteristics that "could" be right, specifically the outer edges of the letters could be partially obstructed. ** center acceptance RR looks like a C/D and that screams Danzig/17 to me, they were a big supplier for snipers, not sure if turrets though, they have sniper ranges, notably the cc-block, but they seem offset to me, but not my area and w/o reviewing comments on the subject I can't hazard a guess. but they would need better pictures to comment probably) I will try and save the RR acceptance and see if I can distinguish the characters on a larger computer screen, but rigtht now I can't even guess on this screen, Either way these latter sniper variations seem pretty uncommonly seen, but I will leave that to the specialists here (we have some really sharp sniper-optic collectors that frequent here.
#Authentic mauser gewehr 98 code
You can get some help from the fireproof, the serial, the barrel code and even clear shots of the stock and receiver acceptance stamps, but without one of these, or multiple even better, no one can help. but WMO & DWM are not probable because neither were engaged in making snipers like this one. the fireproof will also tell, each arsenal was unique, though DWM and Mauser used Spandau type. A clear shot of the right receiver acceptance is probably enough if it is sharp and clear, - sniper rifles are usually arsenal makers, especially Danzig, but I can't make out the characters through the crud.