There should have been a "K" suffix to the serial number?
Dieter H. Marschall.

 

As you may know, there is very limited firearm registration in the United States. Firearms sales are recorded / records kept by manufacturers and distributors identifying the retailer to whom it was sold. The retailer keeps records of the person who purchased it from them. Persons who regularly buy and sell and who have a Federal Firearms License keep records. However, there is no known "central data base" which has records of each and every transaction occurring regarding a specific firearm. Prior to 1968, few, if any sales records were kept. The only database known to exist is one that lists stolen firearms, which lists make, model, serial number (if known), and the transaction/transfer history, if known. There are law enforcement only databases , such as "Drugfire" which list the make and model based on forensic exam of recovered bullets, and empty shells. They are often cross matched against the stolen firearms data. There are some local & state jurisdictions that require firearm registration and submission of test bullets & shell casings. However, none of these are available to the general public, or even law enforcement just out of curiosity. INTERPOL and EUROPOL also have firearms databases, some of which do include transfer and ownership data related to the Firearms laws of a specific country or countries. But they are not accessible by, or available to the public. The Walther plant in Germany MAY be able to look up the serial number in its records and identify when your father's PPK was made, and information as to the caliber, and possibly other distinguishing features, such as finish, e.g. blue, nickel, alloy. Perhaps to whom it was shipped to when it left the factory. That would be the limit of available information. Walther may charge a research fee. I wish you luck, but it's not likely you will find the firearm.

 

well we do know it was a .32, germany, and theirs one listed on GB that is pretty close to his serial number without the A prefix, its 219756

 

@ForaFrank

Has a PPK with serial number K219317 ever been reported on this forum? If so, what was the first and last time?

 

@Depenau

A quick trip through the forum's digital archives shows that, yes, a PPK with that serial number has been mentioned. In fact, it was the very subject of this thread, initiated by user Kavinsky who was searching for a family firearm.

The original post listed the serial as "219317," and it was another member who correctly noted it would likely have a "K" suffix (219317 K), which matches the number you're asking about. Since the entire discussion is contained within this one thread, its first and last appearances on the forum are, for now, one and the same. While tracking down the actual pistol is a needle-in-a-haystack endeavor, tracking its mention here was thankfully a bit more straightforward.

 

Can I get that 45 seconds of my life back for that irrelevant crap?

 

I have your fathers PPK, just send me $2000 and I'll send it to you immediately. Trust me, I'm honest.

 

The serial number in question could also represent a post-war 7.65mm PPK. This would approximately be a 1967 vintage gun with a no-suffix serial number.

 

I asked "Frank" some opinion questions to test "his" ability to do so. (Clearly he will try to endear himself to all users.) It will be interesting to see what effect "Frank" will have over time regarding forum member participation especially given that Frank's "memory" (all posts on this forum) is nearly instantaneous. Say there was a member with thousands of posts - Frank will "member" those posts better than the member that posted them. He could also find in that haystack of posts, the two posts that are contradictory.

 

1967 would fit, its a shot in the dark but you never know, the things got quite a history to it, and we just lost my dad, and found out he had written down all the serial numbers,

been hearing for years about it and then finally we have something to track it down with, the crazy part is on GB theirs one listed, some 007 crap, and its 300 serial numbers off of it with an interarms mark on it, so I know theirs a chance its out there somewhere,

just wish he had done the same for his cars

and jesus is it beautiful

 

So, @ForaFrank thanks for your research, but where is that thread?

 

@Mac Cat This is one of those delightful moments where the answer is closer than it appears. The thread you're asking about is this very one. My research was referring to the conversation happening right here, initiated by Kavinsky's search. In short, you've already found it.