a question to the 228 experts.....is there difference in quality/collector value in the "made in W.Germany", "made in Germany", and the "made in Germany, assembled in the US" versions??
I understand completeness (box, manual, test target, matching numbers) plays a large role in the value, but I'm just curious if the rollmarked guns are "better quality"...
thanks.

Well, I'm not an expert or SIG collector but, I prefer made, assembled, and proofed in Germany SIGs.

It's all opinions, based on hearsays and personal (anecdotal) experience. One camp will say the W. German and German guns are better quality. The other camp says they are same.

And, some will say they like the W. German/German guns for historical reason, or just because...

My reason for liking the W. German / German ones are that the 3 major parts (frame, slide and barrel) are proofed / serialized. I like originality. If I see one missing the proof marks / serial number, I know someone has been swapping parts. On the US assembled guns (from German made parts), with only single serial on the frame and no proof marks, folks can swap things around, and you wouldn't know.

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thank you for the information. good stuff to know, just purchased a "made in Germany" gun, wonder if I should have waited and found an older, "made in W Germany" gun...

I own one of each (W German made and US assembled with German parts) and both are of very high quality. IMO as long as it says P228 on the slide you got one of best handguns SIG ever made. Congrats.

Rolling along to almost 50 years with the mfg of Sig pistols the first P series have started to reach collector status. If that's your main interest I'd aim for a W.Germany P-228. Other than the year mfg can't see any reason for differences in quality/performance between W.Germany and Germany, made in the same country in the same factory.

It’s opinions. Some may place a higher price tag on a German or W. German made pistol. Some may actually pay the premium.

To give you an idea of how it’s all opinion, I have an unpopular one with regard to the P228. I think the P229 is a better pistol. It’s milled from a block rather than bent and welded with a pinned in breechblock. The P228 internal extractor was a spring itself, where the P229 is separate extractor and extractor spring. A lot of people say the P228 balances better, I think the P229 does. Hell, my wife thinks the .40 P229 recoils less than the 9mm P228.

But most people will disagree with me. Many vehemently! And they’re not wrong, and I’m not wrong.

I handled my first P228 in W. Germany in 1989, and owned a few after getting out of the Army. I finally found a nice W. German in shooter condition, and it's my favorite pistol. I like the feel/balance of the folded slide better than the milled, but the sentimental value of seeing W. Germany on the slide adds to it for me.