New AA Arsenal Rebuild 1911

[blockislander]

I just bought a 1911 form a local dealer serial #539xxx. It has a black parkereized finish on the frame and slide. The right side of the frame is marked AA and it has the eagle s6 marking near the mag release. The barrel bushing is blue. The barrel is a greener parkerized marked Colt 45 auto with a P proof mark. The grip saftey is blue and the slide stop and safety are the greener parkerized. The grips are checkered walnut without the diamonds in fairly good shape but not new. The magazine is marked R and is new. The gun appears unfired since the overhall. I will try to post pictures here but they can be viewed at www.msnusers.com/colt1911aa. Any info about this gun would be helpful. Could this gun be original AA refinished in this condition or was it refinished at a later date by others?
Thanks,
Paul

[ptannjr]

very nice!!

[exitwounds]

Can you tell if the AA stamp is applied after the finish? There should be some bright or burnished metal there where the dies abraded the finish. The hammer looks like it could be a Remington Rand. The slide stop is a 1911A1 type. With the exception of the mainspring housing the finish appears to be dark grey parkerizing on my screen. The R marked magazine is a WW II subcontract made by Risdon Mfg Co of Naugatuck,CT.

[blockislander]

Can you tell if the AA stamp is applied after the finish? There should be some bright or burnished metal there where the dies abraded the finish. The hammer looks like it could be a Remington Rand. The slide stop is a 1911A1 type. With the exception of the mainspring housing the finish appears to be dark grey parkerizing on my screen. The R marked magazine is a WW II subcontract made by Risdon Mfg Co of Naugatuck,CT.
The very tops of the a's are a little bright. The mainspring housing appears as dark as the gun. What about the grips?

[exitwounds]

The very tops of the A's are a little bright. The mainspring housing appears as dark as the gun. What about the grips?

In the picture the grips seem to show a bit more wear than the finish, but could be from the rebuild. The Walnut grips if they are Colt USGI, will have about 28 rows of checkering between the grip screw holes plus or minus a row. Walnut grips where gradually phased out by about sn# 730,000 or so in 1941. Plastic grips were introduced in April 1940 but where not in wide spread use until March 1941. So the walnut ones could be found on an arsenal rebuild. Arsenals/Depots generally used parts on hand until they were exhausted and may extend beyond that range. It is not uncommon to find differences in finish on small parts or even intermixed with blued ones on rebuilds. Based on the info you provided the pistol sounds like and looks like a legitimate arsenal rebuild. The old arsenal black finish that appeared in color to "stove black" was used mainly between the wars. The pistol appears to be more of a post WW II rebuild and likely just has a darker finish. Augusta Arsenal was open until 1955. Where is the location of the COLT .45 AUTO marking on the barrel?

[blockislander]

the marking is Colt 45 Auto over the left hand side of the barrel link. There is a p proof mark on the link frame. This gun is parkerized pretty black rather than grey. I have a 1944 1911a1 that is quite a bit lighter. The barrel is definitely lighter parkerized than the gun. The grips are more worn than the gun. Any idea how much it is worth?

[exitwounds]

the marking is Colt 45 Auto over the left hand side of the barrel link. There is a p proof mark on the link frame. This gun is parkerized pretty black rather than grey. I have a 1944 1911a1 that is quite a bit lighter. The barrel is definitely lighter parkerized than the gun. The grips are more worn than the gun. Any idea how much it is worth?

It is a Colt barrel that was used from 1937 to the end of war production, and would have originally been blued. As long as the slide and frame finish match, based on the info you provided regarding the AA stamp, I would say it is from the Arsenal. Arsenal rebuilds seem to have taken on collector interest which has been reflected by the prices they are fetching these days. Most seem to sell in the $800 - $1200 range.

[blockislander]

Thanks a lot for all of the info on this gun. Do you think I should get some WWII grips for it? Any Idea where to get them?
Paul

[exitwounds]

The grips may be the ones that were on the pistol originally, or the Arsenal may have installed them, or even by someone who wanted the correct era grips, they just show more wear compared to the pistol. If it is curb appeal you want, www.simpsonltd.com sells WW II plastic grips. Since it is a rebuild and already has some WW II parts, either could be correct.

[blockislander]

Thanks again for all of your help!
Paul