I have a guy that wants to unload some vintage guns, one of which is a Colt 1911 in definitely used shape.

I have not seen any of these guns in person yet (perhaps in the next few days) but this one is odd to me and hopefully someone can shed some light.

The serial number appears to be
No910805 (not 100 percent on the last number)

From my research the SN dates to 1943 (it is in the range duplicated by the Ithaca brand.

One the left side of the trigger guard is stamped a P at the rear just under the magazine release
and a K at the forward upper part of the trigger guard on the same side

The mainspring housing is curved
The trigger is the short one, the front face of the trigger appears to be serrated
On the left side of the slide is all of the colt Patent info and the Colt Horse which appears in the photo to be worn.

Here is the strange part--

On the left side, the only marking on the frame is the serial number, no "US Government Property" or anything else and Nothing on the slide.

I don't see from the photos where anything was ground off or discolored different from the rest of the gun's bluing.
What's the deal here/ Is this common to have no markings like this? I haven't seen any examples of this anywhere.

Any help you guys may offer would be appreciated

Sometimes people thought that the US property stamp would get them in trouble, so they would grind it off. Check the thickness of the dust cover. I bought one years ago off eBay that had had the original dust cover cut off and a new one welded in place. I got screwed on that deal, but was still able to get my money back by being honest. Sold it as a shooter.

1911s had the US Property stamp on the left receiver dust cover, otherwise no other markings.  

A1s have the US Property and M1911A1 US Army on frame's right side.



There's always an exception, and during the transition between 1911s and A1s (I believe around 1924-25) there were some A1s marked US Property on the frames but with 1911 slides.  By 1943 they would have been properly marked

Here are the photos:

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On review, comparing to the above photo, it looks like they could have been removed :/

Ok, so if  the bore is ok and function check turns out good, what would a fair price be for something like this or should I just pass?

Damn nice gun.  What's his asking price?

I think he mentioned in the $500 range but of course I would not pay asking.

With some of his other guns, I may try and go all "American Pickers" on him and do a package deal.

I have another thread in here from yesterday or so- the same guy has 3 1967 Colt WW1 Commemoratives that he seems insistent on selling the 3 as a set but I really only want one (the best one) because the other 2 are pitted and not as nice condition-wise.

Refinished. Original finish would be parked. US Property marks removed.

Between those two things alone, $500 is about right.

It has value only as a shooter or parts gun.

Seller knows what it's worth. If you want it, just remember, at $500, you're paying market price, not some "special" deal.

FWIW, pitted "collectable" WW1 1911s are not worth much, even the one's in 100% condition can be found easily for a grand. Collectors want standard non gussied up firearms usually. Colt was smart not to put chintzy pics on the WW1/2  Reissues, it really helped as far as demand and pricing goes.

If it's in good operating condition, and it appears to be, I'd buy it, bead blast it, parkerize it and put it back together with a full set of Wolff springs and shoot the living hell out of it.

You could do a lot worse for $500.