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Colt Govt. 45 question
Hustech
Member Posts: 11 ✭✭
My aunt has a Colt Govt Model 45 that came from my Great-grandfather. He was in the Navy during WWI. The serial number is 79##, which dates back to 1912 issue. It has "United States Property" printed on the side. The gun is in absolutely great shape for its age.
I have read that many of these govt. issue handgus were re-built during the war and the slide may not match the gun. How would you know this? I would never part with the gun, but I would like to know the value for insurance purposes. Any history or information would be greatly appreciated.
I have read that many of these govt. issue handgus were re-built during the war and the slide may not match the gun. How would you know this? I would never part with the gun, but I would like to know the value for insurance purposes. Any history or information would be greatly appreciated.
Comments
It would have the Colt "horsie" in a circle on the left rear of the slide and the latest patent date on the left side of the slide should be 1911, obviously not the 1913 shown on later guns.
There are a lot more fine details that go into authenticity, originality, and condition to determine dollar value. For example "absolutely great shape for its age" is not a recognized condition for establishing collector interest and dollar value. Its condition now is what counts. You can put a lot of wear on one in short order or you can take care of it for a long time.
Every single mark on the gun means something. It is not known any more what all of them mean, but a lot are very significant.
Short of buying reference books, you can get the most on the subject at: http://www.coolgunsite.com/
The best thing to do is to take good closeup pictures of the gun from both sides and disassembled* to show every mark on frame, slide, and barrel, and post them here and/or at
http://forums.1911forum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=30
http://forum.m1911.org/forumdisplay.php?f=81
*Be SURE you know how to at least field strip a 1911 without marring it up. If it does not already have an "idiot mark" under the slide stop from hasty reassembly, adding one now could cut hundreds of dollars off the value.