I have a family friend that had her mother pass away a few weeks back and she is looking to get rid of her fathers old 1911. I inspected the gun and it has some light to medium rust on it but other than that is is in OK shape.

Here are the markings off on it:

Colt Mfg.

US Army

The frame is stamped - AA

Dec 19 1905    Feb 14 1911    Aug 19 1913

No. 563493


Comes with a poor condition US marked leather shoulder holster.

I don't know any history on the firearm.


She was going to turn it into the police but I quickly talked her out of it and offered to maybe buy it from her. I am looking for a fair price on the gun.

Sorry, no pics at this time.

As far as I can tell that gun was manufactured from Oct. 24, 1918 to April 10, 1919.

I will try and look up some values for you and ETA them.


ETA values:
*1918 mfg.
- can be determined by black Army finish.
Grading
100% ..  98%  ..    95%   ..   90%    .. 80%     .. 70%.  60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%
           $3,500 $2,750 $2,350 $1,700  $1,200 $825 $600          

Over 2,550,000 M1911 pistols were ordered for WWI and WWII by the U.S. Government, but approx. 650,000 were mfg. between 1911-25. Those pistols with a parkerized finish will indicate post-WWI reworking, usually marked with an arsenal code (ie. AA-AUGUSTA ARSENAL, SA-SPRINGFIELD ARSENAL, etc.). These reworks do not have the same values as original, unaltered specimens and prices generally are in the $325-$550 range.


Without good pictures it's real hard to tell what percentage it's in....The percentages deal with the percentage of original finish it has.  Depending on rust, maybe 70%.  maybe less

Quoted: As far as I can tell that gun was manufactured from Oct. 24, 1918 to April 10, 1919. I will try and look up some values for you and ETA them. ETA values: *1918 mfg. - can be determined by black Army finish. Grading 100% ..  98%  ..    95%   ..   90%    .. 80%     .. 70%.  60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%            $3,500 $2,750 $2,350 $1,700  $1,200 $825 $600           Over 2,550,000 M1911 pistols were ordered for WWI and WWII by the U.S. Government, but approx. 650,000 were mfg. between 1911-25. Those pistols with a parkerized finish will indicate post-WWI reworking, usually marked with an arsenal code (ie. AA-AUGUSTA ARSENAL, SA-SPRINGFIELD ARSENAL, etc.). These reworks do not have the same values as original, unaltered specimens and prices generally are in the $325-$550 range. Without good pictures it's real hard to tell what percentage it's in....The percentages deal with the percentage of original finish it has.  Depending on rust, maybe 70%.  maybe less

Very helpful. Thank you.

It does have the "black army finish" and it doesn't look touched since the war. I would rate it between 60-70% without cleaning it up some. Maybe 75-80 after a good cleaning?

When they say unaltered I assume they mean refinished, recoated, etc...? This looks all original.

Unaltered is just that, yes....Not refinished, no parts changed from original, no blueing touched up, no grips changed, nothing.

I hope you can save a piece of history from hitting the furnace.  

Good luck to you with it and let us know what comes out of the deal.

Quoted: Unaltered is just that, yes....Not refinished, no parts changed from original, no blueing touched up, no grips changed, nothing. I hope you can save a piece of history from hitting the furnace.   Good luck to you with it and let us know what comes out of the deal.

It looks like she has some guy offering her $700 for it. I would like to save it but the price is a tad high for me. In it's current condition I wouldn't give her anymore than $400 unless I could confirm for sure that it is worth more. Maybe I'll ask her if I can get it appraised at my gun shop.

Can I ask you where you got the info you gave me? Is it something I can print out?

It's rebuilt so it is not original. AA stamping means it was probably refinished and has A1 parts on it and it has probably been refinished also. Is the gun parked, blued, or what?If it has rust on it $700 is probably pretty fair. [yes it should be the "black" finish if original, stuff was pretty flaky tho and did not hold up all that well.] Thats fair especially if rusty and AA rebuilt. ANY GI 45 is going for 5 or 600 anymore even if it is crap. Can you look at the markings on the BBL and it's condition? Marks should be on the bottom of the BBL by the link.

The info I gave you is from a paid estimation guide I have.   I can't just get it to you, sorry.    Although the numbers I posted from it are exact and current as of yesterday.  I posted everything I have on that specific model, so feel free to scribble it all down if you like.   They are all legitimate numbers.