The Haenel StG 44 MP 43 Lot 2 is a WW2 first produced in 1943. It carries a scarcity score of 94/100 based on tracked survey data, with 12 active listings currently on the secondary market and a global benchmark price of $86,250.
This Haenel-produced StG 44, originally designated the MP 43, is widely credited as the world's first true assault rifle, combining a select-fire mechanism with an intermediate-power cartridge, the 7.92x33mm Kurz, to give infantry controllable automatic fire at typical combat ranges rather than the full-power rifle cartridges used since the late nineteenth century. Designed with substantial input from Hugo Schmeisser and manufactured by C.G. Haenel among other German firms, the weapon underwent several official designations, including MP 43, MP 44, and finally StG 44, as it moved from limited trials to broader issue on the Eastern Front from 1943 onward. Adolf Hitler personally approved its adoption and the Sturmgewehr designation after initial skepticism within the German high command about diverting resources to a new rifle cartridge and platform late in the war. The StG 44's concept of a select-fire rifle firing an intermediate cartridge directly influenced postwar assault rifle development, including the Soviet AK-47.
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