Colt 1911

[Skywired]

I'm looking for some info.... I'm not familiar at all with 1911's.

Left side slide shows:

PATENTED APR. 20, 1897. SEPT. 9,1902 COLT'S PT.FA.MFG.CO
DEC. 19, 1905. FEB 14, 1911. AUG. 19,1913 HARTFORD, CT.U.S.A.

Left side frame shows:

UNITED STATES PROPERTY

Right side slide shows:

MODEL OF 1911.US.ARMY

Right side frame shows:

Serial # No51xxx

Bottom of Magazine shows: COLT
45 AUTO

No other marks or markings anywhere. So, what do I have??

 

[60Driver]

Colt 1911 not to be confused with a 1911A1, Military issue, built in 1913 based on the serial number. Some of the SERIOUS Colt experts can probably add more information soon.

Certainly a nice colllectors items if it is original and in good condition!

Nice Citabria in your avatar as well.

 

[Grunt]

Post some pics if possible. It would be nice to see it.

 

[Colts]

There is a Colt Forum:

Colt Forum

that could be helpful with specific information (S.N. will indicate year).

 

[drillsgt]

It could be a nice pistol but most probably won't be able to help you without pictures to see if it has the correct parts etc for it's sn range.

 

[Skywired]

Colt 1911 not to be confused with a 1911A1, Military issue, built in 1913 based on the serial number. Some of the SERIOUS Colt experts can probably add more information soon.

Certainly a nice colllectors items if it is original and in good condition!

Nice Citabria in your avatar as well.

Thanks, Citabria was my solo/private ticket plane. I see by your avatar your a 60 Driver.....Little past my time. But your brethren certainly saved my azz in a cold South China Sea back in '70. I was driving an F-4 off the coast one dreary day. No offense meant...but you guys are nuts... I don't know how you fly those things...

 

[Skywired]

deleted

 

[Skywired]

OK, here we go....photos, I hope, this time !

 

[88E30M50]

It's hard to see much from the size of the photos, but it looks like an early M1911. The trigger looks correct, but the grips may not be. Has it been refinished? Whether it has or not, it's still a great looking 1911. I hope to add one as nice as that to my modest collection some day.

There is one down at Elmore's in Greenwood, IN, mfg'd in 1918 that has also been refinished, not correctly blued, but parkerized instead. Same grips as yours and they are asking $1800 for it. If yours is blued, it would be worth more than the one they had, but I'm not sure how much that would be. Theirs seems over priced at $1800 and has been in the case since last summer.

 

[DGansert]

love it, great looking for its age!

 

[skunkworks1]

is it for sale?

 

[Skywired]

It's hard to see much from the size of the photos, but it looks like an early M1911. The trigger looks correct, but the grips may not be. Has it been refinished? Whether it has or not, it's still a great looking 1911. I hope to add one as nice as that to my modest collection some day.

There is one down at Elmore's in Greenwood, IN, mfg'd in 1918 that has also been refinished, not correctly blued, but parkerized instead. Same grips as yours and they are asking $1800 for it. If yours is blued, it would be worth more than the one they had, but I'm not sure how much that would be. Theirs seems over priced at $1800 and has been in the case since last summer.

It's blued...not parkerized. I'd put the blue at 90%. No dings, marks, scratches, blemishes. I don't know about the grips. They seem "correct"...that's all I can say. I'm really out of my league here...

 

[88E30M50]

It's blued...not parkerized. I'd put the blue at 90%. No dings, marks, scratches, blemishes. I don't know about the grips. They seem "correct"...that's all I can say. I'm really out of my league here...

Nice! I really hope to add something like that to my collection some day. Is there any back story to this gun? Heirloom or great pawn shop find? If you go to Colt's website, they will do an online serial number search to let you know when it was manufactured. You can request a detailed search for a fee and they will send you a nice document that say's who the gun was built for or, what military depot it was shipped to. I wish there were some way to find the guns military service. How many of our guns were dropped into France on D-Day, climbed the beach at Iwo or rode along on bombing missions. Thousands of them did, but there is no way to know which ones they are.