1963 1911a1

[mikestrongusa]

Hello All,

Not sure where to post an intro so here goes: I'm an avid shooter who owns a couple of 1911 pistols. I've lurked here for some time, but never posted. I'm an old-timer at Lightfighter and Falfiles, so please go light if I step on my private parts in this forum. Anyway, I'm glad to be here.

On to a question: I need to find out the value of a 1963 1911A1 Government Model. I tried the Blue Book but the website could not accurately identify my pisol. The serial number starts with 291,xxx and it belonged to my friend's father in the Vietnam War. Apparently only 2,500 were made of this particular model, but I can't confirm this information. The pistol is in excellent condition and has been cleaned up very nicely. Any help will be appreciated.

Greetings and thanks for having me.

Mike

[Hawkmoon]

If it was made in 1963 it's a commercial pistol and this discussion should be moved to the Colt forum. But the serial number sounds like a military number, and much older than 1963.

It would help if you could post pictures (no larger than 800x600, please!). If you can't post pictures, please describe what marking are on each side of the frame and the slide.

[OD*]

Hawk's correct, your serial# should have a C suffix. 1963 started with 291300C.

Whoops, Welcome aboard Mike!

[mikestrongusa]

It does have a "c" suffix. Sorry about the omission. I will post a pic tomorrow or the next day. Thanks for the help and thanks for the welcome.

[John]

This is a post-WWII model, so I am moving this thread to the Colt forum.

[191145]

Yes, there were only 2500 Colt Government Models made in 1963. I have a '53, and some others here have them too. The post-war Gov Models to me are the last of the original 1911s, although the Mk IV Series 70 is okay too. Here is a link to a great list of all the Colt 1911s up to around '78. One of the best things about the Gov Models is that they run less expensive than the actual G.I. issue pistols, so they're relatively painless to buy, but they're starting to go up. Depending on the condition of your gun and whether or not it has all original parts, it could go from $400 to $900. There are several pictured on this site that look brand new. Mine looks new, but not like original - it had already been re-blued at least once, so I had it redone to look like a pre-WWII M1911A1 with a brushed blue finish.
http://www.sightm1911.com/1911Production.htm

[OD*]

Clawson gives 2870 as total production in '63.
290930-C to 293800-C, looks like proofhouse.com's year starting number 291300C, maybe incorrect?

[191145]

"Clawson gives 2870 as total production in '63"

I didn't know we were going to be that precise. The other source says 2500, and I figured that was a ballpark number. You sure it wasn't 2871?

[OD*]

Look, I'm sorry I offended you with Clawson's numbers, that's what the man said. I was asking if proofhouse could be wrong? "The Sight" M1911A1's list has been proven incorrect by Johnny Peppers, exitwounds and Scott Gahimer. Me, I'll go with Clawson and the above mentioned gentlemen.

[mikestrongusa]

thanks for the info. i have pics and would like to post but don't know how. any suggestions?

[dakota1911]

There is a how-to on the forum which you probably want to read and a test area you can try things out. Real quick:
1. Take your picture and save it on your computer in .jpg format, or convert it to a jpg. (You might want to put it in a folder where you can find it.)
2. Resize it to not more than 600x800 pixels. How you do this depends on the software you have, but even windoza xp has Microsoft Photo Editor. I usually save the resized file with a new name so I don't wipe out the original.
3. Get an account on an image server www.photobucket.com is one, but there are others. Once you have the account you can upload the resized image to the image server.
4. Copy the link from the image server and then paste it into your reply in the forum.