Chance to buy an older 1911 - Looking for feedback

[MemHeli]

Hey all, I've had a friend pass, and his widow has offered to me his 1911.  He picked the gun up from an attic of an Officer who had passed when he bought the old house where the gentleman lived.  He's had in an a drawer ever since.  Wondering if you guys can help me understand what we have here, and what a fair price to offer her would be.  

[KahrMan]

That is a Model 1911 Military from 1918.  The value depends if all the parts are matching.  Have you stripped it to see if the slide is serial matched to the frame?  Even if the parts are not all matching it will still have some value.  Let me see what I can find out for you.

[MemHeli]

I did strip it but did not find a serial number on the slide.  I guess I didn't look hard enough.  I do see a few stamps on the frame though that look interesting.

 

[gregintenn]

Oh my! That's worth a lot just for the cool factor!

 

I'm guessing $1500 would be a fair price to both buyer and seller?

Edited April 11, 2017 by gregintenn

[Ronald_55]

Sorry to hear of a friend passing. Boy do I wish I found this kind of stuff in the attics of houses am in. Nice of his widow to offer and nice of you to make sure you give her a fair price.

[MemHeli]

12 minutes ago, Ronald_55 said:

Sorry to hear of a friend passing. Boy do I wish I found this kind of stuff in the attics of houses am in. Nice of his widow to offer and nice of you to make sure you give her a fair price.

I just imagine my wife going thru the same ordeal when I'm gone.  

[Sidecarist]

It looks to me to probably be an arsenal refinished gun. The slide stop doesn't quite match etc. This isn't a bad thing moat of these went through that process at least once.

All the parts look to be vintage, and externally it hasn't been butchered and that means a lot. 

If it's all period correct internally and hasn't been butchered by a hack then $1500.00 isn't too far off. The details count on guns like this for collectors. It's not likely a high end collector piece. It is truly a very cool gun. Imagine where it's been!

[MemHeli]

2 minutes ago, Sidecarist said:

It looks to me to probably be an arsenal refinished gun. The slide stop doesn't quite match etc. This isn't a bad thing moat of these went through that process at least once.

All the parts look to be vintage, and externally it hasn't been butchered and that means a lot. 

If it's all period correct internally and hasn't been butchered by a hack then $1500.00 isn't too far off. The details count on guns like this for collectors. It's not likely a high end collector piece. It is truly a very cool gun. Imagine where it's been!

I noticed the slide was marking the frame when I racked it a few times.  I thought that was odd.  It made metal shine on one side of the frame.  Probably hadn't been racked in many years.  I also noticed the slide had markings on the right side, and I thought I'd read the slide would be blank on period correct slides.

[Garufa]

48 minutes ago, MemHeli said:

I just imagine my wife going thru the same ordeal when I'm gone.  

Looks like a mostly genuine Colt Black Army to me...with a busted (or maybe filed square) front sight. 

Prices for things like this are all over the place and definitely in the four figure range.  My WAG, $1500, more or less, depending on condition and this, that or the other.

This is all assuming I know what I'm talking about.

Edited April 11, 2017 by Garufa

[Raoul]

check gunbroker closed sales. I recently picked up a Colt 1918 vintage myself and found Gunbroker showed a pretty good range of value.

I think that front sight has been replaced. Numrich is your friend for date appropriate parts. I just got my order in to repair mine.

[Will]

For the most part looks correct. Finish may be original. Colts were serial numbered to slide from about 1938 To early 1943 ,not WWI era.

Grips seem to be original. Mag should be unmarked two tone. To give a price on these they have to be stripped all the way down. A couple

things that may make them near worthless is any alteration that can not be corrected,cracked frame/slide. Oversize bushing put in one of

the grip holes from original being stripped and two dozen other things. Barrel should be correct and not much of a problem if dark,pitted or

shot out as this was al corrosive ammo back then. You are in luck TN Military Collectors is in Cool Springs at The Marriott this Fri& Sat. Five

bucks to get in,ask for Scott Gahimer ? Gehimer/ Table he love to take them down and tell you all about them. I am pretty sure all 1911 WWI  

slides had front sight milled into them unlike WWII which were replaceable. If Scott is not there several other experts will be.

Cool Gun Site.com will have photos of correct bbl,and small parts.

Ballpark $   If Boogerd $300   if mostly correct with no alterations $1200   All correct  $1600-$1900

Get it looked at.Good Luck   Yours was made in 1918 on the last big run when most of them were made so it is most common gun.

Edited April 11, 2017 by Will
add

[Ramjo]

Has this been sold yet?

[MemHeli]

 

On 5/15/2017 at 7:38 PM, Ramjo said:

Has this been sold yet?

don't know but I could ask.  I decided to pass on it myself.