what VALUE/WORTH is my colt 45 1911. *MORE PICS ADDED*
- Thread starter rollie100
- Start date
Looks like you have a 1942 Colt - take off the firing pin stop plate and check the if the serial number there matches the slide. If it does the slide is original to the pistol.
Close up pictures of barrel marking will help to determine if the barrel is original.
The faded patent markings could indicate that the slide was refinished if the pistol is all original (matched slide / frame) it could be worth $1300 - $1500. If the slide was refinished and it doesn't match the frame $1000 - $1100.
Close up pictures of barrel marking will help to determine if the barrel is original.
The faded patent markings could indicate that the slide was refinished if the pistol is all original (matched slide / frame) it could be worth $1300 - $1500. If the slide was refinished and it doesn't match the frame $1000 - $1100.
Paul's covered off the slide/finish issue. Look for your serial number stamped under the firing pin stop to see if it matches the frame:
Otherwise it looks like you have a very nice example of a 1942 mfg "WB" inspected Colt 1911A1. The small parts are correct on your example: checkered slide stop & thumbsafety, wide spur checkered hammer, milled trigger with checkered face and checkered mainspring housing.
Your grips don't look correct. Maybe it's just the light in your photos. One's cracked anyway. Proper grips for a 1942 Colt should look like this:
To be correct, your barrel should be marked on the side:
And you need a correct magazine for it. Marked C-L, C-R, etc on the bottom of the front lip.
NAA.
Otherwise it looks like you have a very nice example of a 1942 mfg "WB" inspected Colt 1911A1. The small parts are correct on your example: checkered slide stop & thumbsafety, wide spur checkered hammer, milled trigger with checkered face and checkered mainspring housing.
Your grips don't look correct. Maybe it's just the light in your photos. One's cracked anyway. Proper grips for a 1942 Colt should look like this:
To be correct, your barrel should be marked on the side:
And you need a correct magazine for it. Marked C-L, C-R, etc on the bottom of the front lip.
NAA.
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I concur with Paulinski.
Less than a year ago I sold a similar gun, a Colt M1911A1 United States Army .45 from 1945 here on CGN. I believe all of the parts to have been original except for the firing pin and the barrel. I also threw in one correctly marked "C-L" magazine with the gun.
I had no takers until my asking price hit $1100 at which point I received 5 emails from guys wanting to buy at that price. It sold for $1100 to the guy who got the first email in to me. He was a collector who had USGIs from most of the 1940s, but wanted one from 1945.
It's a bummer that we cannot sell these guns to the US where they would pay much more for them. This rule is firm and there is no way around it.
I started my price high and worked my way down.
Good luck!
Less than a year ago I sold a similar gun, a Colt M1911A1 United States Army .45 from 1945 here on CGN. I believe all of the parts to have been original except for the firing pin and the barrel. I also threw in one correctly marked "C-L" magazine with the gun.
I had no takers until my asking price hit $1100 at which point I received 5 emails from guys wanting to buy at that price. It sold for $1100 to the guy who got the first email in to me. He was a collector who had USGIs from most of the 1940s, but wanted one from 1945.
It's a bummer that we cannot sell these guns to the US where they would pay much more for them. This rule is firm and there is no way around it.
I started my price high and worked my way down.
Good luck!
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Reid134: There is a rule put in place by the US government that flatly prohibits the importation of US military firearms once they have left the country. Since USGI pistols were actually made in the US and used by US forces, they have a much greater value to US collectors. I could have gotten twice as much for my gun in the US (in US dollars to boot) but was not allowed to sell there. Canadian forces carried Brownings. Canadian collectors don't pay as much. I tried to find a loophole but it doesn't exist.
This law is due to the fact that all the 9/11 terrorists were Canadian and used WWII Colt .45acp's
This law is due to the fact that all the 9/11 terrorists were Canadian and used WWII Colt .45acp's
Nope, it's been in place a lot longer than that....
NAA.
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The small parts still appear to be correct for a 1942 mfg Colt. Including the Colt factory marked barrel. The slide is from the first run of Colts in 1943. It was quite common for frames & slides to get mixed up when in an armoury or arsenal for regular servicing with other 1911A1's.
Fortunately, you still have a Colt slide of the same era on your frame. Often Colt frames ended up with Remington Rand or Ithaca slides or visa versa. Your barrel is correct. Your grips are not, they are Vietnam era replacement grips. Your other grip will have the similar number inside but ends with "63".
Cheers!
NAA.
Fortunately, you still have a Colt slide of the same era on your frame. Often Colt frames ended up with Remington Rand or Ithaca slides or visa versa. Your barrel is correct. Your grips are not, they are Vietnam era replacement grips. Your other grip will have the similar number inside but ends with "63".
Cheers!
NAA.
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And don't feel too bad about the mis-match slide on the numbers. As stated it is quite common.
When I did a 'resto' on my 1942 mfg "WB" inspected Colt frame the period slide I had for it had some after marked hi-vi sites installed on it. And the serial number stamped under the firing pin stop made it a 1941 mfg slide. My frame & that slide are ~ 42,000 numbers apart [Top slide in pic]
I did find another period slide for it, with correct GI sites, but with no number stamped under the firing pin stop. This slide is pre serial number 710,### when Colt started to stamp numbers under the stop [Bottom slide in pic]
My grips are replacements as well, but still makes for a nice 'repro' piece:
NAA.
When I did a 'resto' on my 1942 mfg "WB" inspected Colt frame the period slide I had for it had some after marked hi-vi sites installed on it. And the serial number stamped under the firing pin stop made it a 1941 mfg slide. My frame & that slide are ~ 42,000 numbers apart [Top slide in pic]
I did find another period slide for it, with correct GI sites, but with no number stamped under the firing pin stop. This slide is pre serial number 710,### when Colt started to stamp numbers under the stop [Bottom slide in pic]
My grips are replacements as well, but still makes for a nice 'repro' piece:
NAA.
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And don't feel too bad about the mis-match slide on the numbers. As stated it is quite common.
When I did a 'resto' on my 1942 mfg "WB" inspected Colt frame the period slide I had for it had some after marked hi-vi sites installed on it. And the serial number stamped under the firing pin stop made it a 1941 mfg slide. [Top slide in pic]
I did find another period slide for it, with correct GI sites, but with no number stamped under the firing pin stop. [Bottom slide in pic]
My grips are replacements as well:
NAA.
Beautiful restoration job
. Do you shoot her??Dr.Bob
Beautiful restoration job
Dr.Bob
Haven't since the resto job completed last year.... The frame, since I acquired it circa 1990, used to be the dedicated platform for my Colt .22 conversion unit. I've since moved the conversion unit over onto a Series 70 Gold Cup frame.
I might put a mag thru the '42 resto at some point just to confirm she's 'fully functional' but my general plan is not to shoot it [much] if I do. I have other 1911 "shooters"..... [that's what Norc 1911's are for, no?
]
NAA.
hatman1793
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Its a nice shooter.
The crown stamp is a proof mark. The slide appears to be a genuine Colt, but the frame is not. I'm thinking that its worth about C$500.00 to C$750.00 tops.
Mismatched 1911's, P38's, and Luger's all attract about the same value concept. Not all original, but still a "shooter" and valued as a shooter.
The crown stamp is a proof mark. The slide appears to be a genuine Colt, but the frame is not. I'm thinking that its worth about C$500.00 to C$750.00 tops.
Mismatched 1911's, P38's, and Luger's all attract about the same value concept. Not all original, but still a "shooter" and valued as a shooter.
The Crown stamp on the slide is not an original proof mark from original manufacture. It was applied after the fact. It is likely British given the style of the crown but not clear enough to identify it from the source material that I have on hand.
Of course the frame is genuine Colt. Correct USGI serial number range for a Colt 1911A1 pistol and "WB" inspector's proof. Also, check out the Colt "VP" verified proof mark on the trigger guard bow in the second photo on page one of this thread. I don't think you can get much more definitive than that.
Mismatch or not it still worth considerably more than your estimate. I think Paul's estimate on page two of this thread is within the current range of value. In keeping with what USGI 1911A1 pistols are currently going for. Your pricing estimates are a couple years out of date.... Still love your avatar pic, though....
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