I have a full box of 38-44 ammo. I believe that it is pre-war by the packaging, and the box is in outstanding condition. All of the rounds are head stamped 38-44 as well.

What might a good value be?

***Photos and additional info in post #7 ***

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On the Oak Savannah

Priceless! Probably catch a nice coin for it. There are some 38-44 affectionados out there who could help on this thread.

I hope that someone has an idea of value.

I did recently learn that there are two 38-44 loadings. For the longest time, I had no idea that there were black powder 38-44's.....until in Tulsa, OK I found a top break S&W marked 38-44 which I insisted was mis-marked....I was wrong! and my dear old dad gleefully pointed it out.

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On the Oak Savannah

The older .38-44, for the topbreak, is another cartridge, entirely different.

On Gun Broker there are 4 completed (i.e. actually sold) auctions in the Vintage Ammo section for 38-44 ammo.
1. A single round sold for $1. It was lead round nose and looked similar to a .38 special cartridge. Not in perfect condition.
2. A single round of recessed round nose sold for $17.25. The round nose bullet is completely recessed below the rim.
3. 2 rounds of "gallery" (recessed round nose) sold for $16.00. The round nose bullet is completely recessed below the rim.
4. A single round sold for $6.00. I was a lead round nose and looked similar to a .38 special cartridge. Was in excellent condition.

It is interesting to note that there were no uncompleted auctions for .38-44 ammo. In other words all four sellers sold their ammo. For many, if not most, items on Gun Broker there's a lot of uncompleted auctions.

I am going to guess that a full box of pre-war .38-44 in excellent condition is going to be fairly valuable if you can find the right buyer. The average price is a little over $8 per round for the recessed ("gallery") ammo and a little over $3 per round for the non-recessed ammo. I'm not savvy enough about .38-44 ammo to know if there's a significant premium for the recessed ("gallery") ammo versus the non-recessed(?). Assuming a full box is 50 rounds I would guess you might consider it worth $240 - 400 (probably closer to $400 based on condition) if you sell the individual rounds out of it on Gun Broker but I'd imagine the intact package is worth considerably more? It would be interesting to start an auction at 1 penny with no reserve and see where it goes.

There could be a premium for the recessed round nose cartridges?

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Scoundrel & Ne'er-Do-Well

I sold a most excellent Remington Dogbone box full of pre-war 38-44 a couple of years ago to a guy in San Antonio at my local gunshow for $200. I thought he got a heck of a deal.
Ed

I drug the box out for some photos and discovered that they are 'Metal Point'. I think that they call this style bog the dog bone, but maybe some more experienced cartridge collectors can chime in here with the correct terminology.

Here are the photos....

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On the Oak Savannah

I've got a full box just like yours except on the end label where yours says metal point mine says lead bullet. Other than that they are exactly the same. Your box is in nicer shape than mine. I bought my box years ago just for display purposes with my old guns of that era. Strangely enough it is outer wrapped in cellophane and I've never opened it!
In fact, I seriously doubt the ammo inside is really the old 38-44. I believe it only has run-of-the-mill 38 spl. But it makes a great display prop.
Thanks for the photos.

Roger

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Eph 2:8-9

.38-44 ammunition was usually offered with both a 158 grain lead bullet and a 158 grain metal capped bullet. What that means is that a metal cap covers only the part of the bullet outside the case mouth. Within the case it is lead, therefore even though it appears to be FMJ, it is not. The idea was to reduce bore wear vs. using FMJ bullets.

Regarding the date of your box, if the first letter of the lot code is "D", that would indicate that it was manufactured during the second half of 1931, thus early production. I can't tell the lot code that well from your picture. And it is a "Dog Bone" box, in use from the late 1920s until the late 1930s.

I hesitate to estimate a value, but I would guess that if it is a full box, it would probably find a buyer in the range of $100-$200 depending upon the buyer's mood. Someone with a nice early HD or ODM would be the person most interested in buying it. As a partial box, somewhat less. BTW, I have four full and perfect boxes of Western Super-X .38 Special (which is .38-44) I bought at a gun show about 10-12 years ago for $7/box.

"In fact, I seriously doubt the ammo inside is really the old 38-44. I believe it only has run-of-the-mill 38 spl."

Not necessarily. What is the headstamp?

Dwalt, The date code is somewhat blurred. I will try and get a better view of it.

I bought the box in Tulsa with the intent to use it as a photo prop. I have several 38/44's and only a few loose rounds that my dad scrounged up. The seller had this box squirreled away under his table and I had to ask for it. I can say that I have never seen another box of 38-44 in person prior. I can say that I was delighted to find it, and that it absolutely made my day

As much as I would love to try out some of the original 38-44 rounds, this box will stay intact so long as it is in my grubby mitts, they just don't come along like this very often.

And as to value, I have already been offered more than double your highest estimate, so I think that I did very well. If you ever want to double your money on that Super-X, just let me know

Thanks again DWalt!

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On the Oak Savannah