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1911 Colt 45 ACP Government Model

pgspearspgspears Member Posts: 12 ✭✭
edited January 2015 in Ask the Experts
What is the value of my 1913A1 pistol which is in good working condition, and has only a small amount of holster wear around the nozzle? It has a history of being used by a crime fighter in Chicago and St. Louis in the 1920s and 1930s, and does that matter?

Comments

  • perry shooterperry shooter Member Posts: 17,390
    edited November -1
    the pistol if made in 1913 is a model 1911 not 1911A1 if the history is by word of mouth is worth zero . if some way to prove it like a copy of police report or record of serial number in a TRIAL then it will greatly increase in value A barrel does not have a NOZZLE but does have a MUZZLE . The best thing you can post some pictures this will help us give you a valid value You can post pictures here using photobucket . see No 11 STICKY the top of this forum on how to post pictures.
  • charliemeyer007charliemeyer007 Member Posts: 6,579 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Make a junk mail address before signing up at photobucket. Famous people ownership if documented can add value sometimes a lot. Don't try and clean it up.
  • pgspearspgspears Member Posts: 12 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks for the replies. All I have is newspaper clippings talking about the police officer who owned this gun. I have no way to tie him directly to this 45 nor to the 38 special shoulder gun he carried so... no added value there. For a small man, he was a great cop.

    Many years ago I checked out the serial number to find when the 45 was made, and found it was actually made in 1913. I believe that was when the straight back strap was changed to a curved one, and the trigger guard was enlarged to accommodate gloved trigger fingers. Maybe more was done, but I do not know that.

    Anyone care to speculate on the value of these 1911s now?
  • nunnnunn Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 35,988 ******
    edited November -1
    Yours is worth $200.
  • nmyersnmyers Member Posts: 16,875 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    A Colt .45 auto is either a 1) Model 1911, or 2) a Government Model; it is not a 1911 Government Model. The way you tell the difference is to look at WHAT IS STAMPED ON THE SLIDE.

    However, slides can be switched; so, we need to know the serial number. Yes, you already told us the serial number shows it was made in 1913, but we will be the judge of that. We are Ronald Reagan experts ("Trust, but verify").

    Gun collectors/dealers have a saying, "Buy the gun, not the story." Lacking provenance linking your gun(s) to the owner, we will judge based solely on what the guns actually are.

    You can rephrase your request any way you want, but, until you post photos, the $200 estimate is probably the best you will get.

    Neal

    Neal
  • Hawk CarseHawk Carse Member Posts: 4,365 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The change from 1911 to 1911A1 was in 1925. Actually it was some years after that before they were actually marked 1911A1.

    There has been a lot of confusion as to year of manufacture because military and commercial pistols were numbered separately.

    It is going to take close clear pictures to settle anything.
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