This Sauer 38H in .32 ACP was put together during the early Allied occupation of Germany, before the Sauer plant passed to Soviet control. Factory hands built such pistols from leftover and rejected parts to trade with GIs, which is why collectors nickname them cigarette guns, and they carry no Waffenamt or inspection stamps. Cate and Van Gijn's study of Sauer automatics places this variant as Type 5a, with fewer than twenty recorded. This one is numbered 191B in large digits on the right of the slide, shows the S&S logo on the left grip, has the double rectangular trigger-guard notches typical of the type, and has no slide legend and no safety.

Condition is strong for the type: roughly 98 percent blue, an excellent bore with bright rifling, an excellent unmarked blued magazine and hard rubber grips without chips or cracks. The action and cocking lever work as they should. For a North Carolina collector of Sauer pistols this is a reference example, not a shooter.

Key features

• .32 ACP, Type 5a occupation-assembled Sauer 38H
• Numbered 191B on slide; no Waffenamt marks
• No slide legend, no safety; S&S logo on left grip
• About 98 percent blue, excellent bore
• Excellent grips and unmarked magazine; action functions

The pistol is delivered to the North Carolina FFL dealer you name for an in-person handgun transfer.