XXX stamped in the stock just forward of the floorplate.
Last edited by Merc; 10-08-2019 at 08:43.
the B means the floorplate is pinned,
no idea on the XXX, none of the one's I bought have that on them,
somewhere , I recall seeing the numbers on lend lease, may have been on Gunboards in the American arms section,
but not sure
I read a SWAG of between 14,000 and 44,000 M1903s were sent to Greece in 1947. No figures yet on how many the CMP sold. One accounting says prices for shooters in 2001 were about $300 to $575 (+/-), depending on condition and type of stock.
I’d like to hear opinions. Is my 1925 M1903 with a 1944 HS barrel that was a US service rifle leading up to WW2 and possibly fought in WW2 and then went on to fight the Greek Civil War in the late 1940s more or less valuable than your standard everyday ‘03? Would you go out of your way to look for a Greek returned ‘03? Would you convert a Greek returned ‘03 with it’s special markings to a standard ‘03 by replacing the stock, floorplate and bolt and unpinning the floorplate or not?
As someone who is about to sell a HN parts gun that shoots decent but has no collectible value, my view is that once you get away from original or early modified guns, Greek history doesn't matter. It's how they look and perform that sets the price. A3s are a little different because they are a WW2 era gun often only minimally used.
Last edited by togor; 10-08-2019 at 02:38.
I would agree that any rifle’s looks and performance should determine it’s value if there’s no provenance. But, as a long time Civil War antique collector, I know if there’s a good story that goes along with the antique, then that will always add value.
The friend who sold me the rifle bought from the CMP in 2001. He had no idea of its history and therefore sold to me as a strangely marked M1903, wearing an 03A3 stock, a new barrel, covered with a hardened preservative that he never tried to clean, never checked things like ME, TE and headspace and never had it to the range. I also had no idea of its history when I bought the rifle but cleaned off all the gunk, checked it out, shot it and then started doing research. I think he would have probably asked more money for it had he known the provenance and I probably would have thought it was cool and paid it. I’m impressed by the rifle’s history and I think it’s one of the more interesting guns that I own.
Last edited by Merc; 10-08-2019 at 03:41. Reason: Darn spell check