SOLD VERY SCARCE JAPANESE TYPE 38 SHORT “CAVALRY” RIFLE…..WITH MUM,MATCHING AND MINT!

This is a significant find for the Japanese Rifle Collector…..We have a very rare Japanese Type 38 Arisaka Short Rifle commonly referred to by collectors as the “Cavalry Rifle”.  This exceptional mint condition example is correctly matching down to the dust cover and still retains the imperial crest.  No finer example could be has than this.  This is an extremely scarce and rarely encountered Japanese Service rifle, most known examples do not retain the crest.  There has been a lot of speculation regarding these rifles but nothing definitive is know beyond the fact that they were converted to this configuration by the Chigusa Arsenal during the 1930’s.  Although called Cavalry rifles by collectors the real reason for development is not clear, however in my opinion, they were the first attempt to develop a short infantry rifle similar to the 24-25 inch rifles that were being fielded by many Armies at the time.  This ultimately led to the development of the Type 99 rifle which was short and of a larger caliber.   Today, these short rifles are difficult to find and are highly sought after by collectors.  I think the price point we placed on it is a real bargain, I could easily see this being worth more than 2k.