http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIGINAL-U-S-COLT-BLADE-MARKED-M7-BAYONET-WITH-SCABBARD-/311273546519?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4879596317

His date range seems sort of off, weren't these post Vietnam produced?

You got it.  Think he's the typical e-bay seller unloading those. If it says M-7 then it's obviously VN issue to many sellers.   He's confusing his later production model 62316 with 62082 model  that has Armalite / Colt roll stamp.  Not the worst starting bid I've seen over the years for those.  Figure $80-90 to your door is kinda standard for those today due to the Pony.  

Yep. There was a stockpile discovered in Germany back about 2009 or so. Details are unclear, but they were probably made by Imperial. They started out selling for $30-40 five years ago, but have increased to around $80-90+ since then. Owning something that says Colt with a pony is never a bad thing.

But, would it be correct for your 603? No.

I own more than one.

Why not?
My 613 came with one. Do you think it was added by the dealer?

Ok, there is some debate about when these particular Imperial bayonets were made. I do not know for certain, but the consensus has them manufactured in Europe, post Vietnam, late 70's.

Don't know the history of your 613 rifle, possibly imported from asia not too long ago, and the bayonet probably added by the dealer.

I would be happy with your rifle and bayonet all day long!

Here's the west german offer http://www.ebay.com/itm/COLT-STAMPED-VIET-NAM-WEST-GERMAN-MFG-U-S-M7-BAYONET-FIGHTING-KNIFE-P-N-62316/400847896979?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131003132420%26meid%3D6feccf1fce6e4615a07673b8371af1a0%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D311273546519&rt=nc

I thought the M7 bayonets with the right angle ground blade were the earliest?

Yep, the right angle is early and the curved is later mfg.

Yep, the right angle is early and the curved is later mfg.

For the most part this is true.  Still too much bayo misinformation out there.  Later production Ontario M-7 blades have the right angle.  As far as I know Ontario had the last M-7 US govt contract. I've had some of these for at least 10 years now and were bought from Defense General Supply Center when they had a retail / surplus outlet in Richmond, VA so obviously US govt bought some of these at some point.  



Approximately 30K Imperials were manufactured in USA although actual numbers can vary a bit from one publication to the next and approximately 80K Eickhorns were made in Solingen, Germany.  Not the same.  Colt production contract date later part of 1975.  Actual Colt roll marked 62316 production 1976-79ish.  Many Colt rifle owners did purchase accesories for their weapons at a later than original weapon purchase date same as we do today.

Milpar also made a very few but have only seen two (one in the books) and I don't think they ever were sold to US military and not positive they were ever even purchased / marketed by Colt.  Milpar / Colt picture is very blurred at best and more than likely a fake if not from a know bayo collection IMO.

Is there a thread or other web site that has a good time line on M7 bayonets somewhere?

Saw plenty at the last gun show I was at but I have no idea which ones are more collectable.

I might as well start learning about them as well.

Good Info

62082 $1K plus
FZR $200 plus
62316 $80-90 plus

The rest $40-50 in excellent condition. You can pay more and you can pay less I just gave a rough estimate of actual value.  Condition is the key for paying  top coins.  Un-sharpened never used to excellent used and on down the line.  Probably still gonna pay $20 for junk today but if it has a scabbard,  you can still interchange the small  parts as they only had a couple different cage numbers for parts.

As stated previously just because it says M-7 doesn't mean VN era and most either don't know this or are simply trying to pull a fast one on the unknowing.   62082 and FZR will probably be who has the deepest pockets items in an auction setting unless you happen to know or are friends with an older blade collector or such.  The rest of the MFG's will simply be search and find.  None of the mass produced surplus pieces are very tough to find.  Most the oddball variants are still in the $40-60 range excluding the Milpar 62316 that I seriously doubt you can even find and if you do enter at own risk.

The Hume's book is decent.  There were also a few foreign mfg's.  Canada,  Phillippines, Germany,  S Korea, etc.  Most just collect the US versions and as with any hobby quickly end up with way too many of this and that if they do it for any length of time.  If you have a local Barnes & Noble might be able to enjoy a cup of coffee and broaden knowledge base a bit.  I did it the hard way looking at literally 1000's of surplus bayos on my lunch hour,  funshows,  knife shows etc.

Member WillP had a www site with some well researched M-7 info which I can't remember off the top of my head that is worth giving a look also.  If collecting the rare pieces be careful.  If condition is too good it's probably not authentic is a good rule unless from a very reliable reputable source.  Very popular to take the unmarked Eickhorn blades and engrave FZR and such and pass off as originals to the unknowing.  Also the rare pieces in many instances had dedicated scabbards and such.

The Willyp page mentioned above.