Chinese Import 1911A1?

[danf]

I just saw two 1911A1s today with "IA CO SAC CA" import marks. One is a Colt and the other a Remington Rand. I have a vague memory of 1911A1s imported from China some years ago, I'm guessing these were part of that batch.

Assuming all the other factors are okay (finish, overall condition, correct parts, etc.), how much does the import mark reduce the value?

[Dave in FL]

A couple hundred bucks, in my opinion. I also could care less about import marks, so if they're a good deal, you should get them.

[pa_guns]

Hi

Depending on the buyer an import mark could knock anything from nothing to maybe as much as half off of the price.

If they are typical "mix master" 1911's with a variety of parts in them, then I would say the import mark doesn't matter much. On a "new un-fired, all matching, 100% finish, pre-WWII, Colt" the import mark would be a significant knock to its market value.

Bob

[Thom m]

I own one of these reimports, I don't consider the marks detrimental at all, just part of the pistol's history. If you buy one or both of the guns, I'd be interested in talking to you about it. I have done some research and found out quite a bit about them. If you can, remove the fireing pit stop (on the Colt) and see if the number under it matches the frame number. I can E-Mail you some pictures of mine if you want me to.

[Scott Gahimer]

Thom: How about posting some photos of your pistol? Sounds like something we'd all like to see. Thanks.

[Thom m]

I did post them awhile back, or at least I had a member post them for me(I can't seem to figure it out) It's the one with the Chinese characters on the front strap.Look down a few posts at one by Bigredc, that's my pistol. I think the date was May 13th. Title say's need help idetifying pistol.

[danf]

Hey Thom, saw the pictures in the thread you mentioned. The Colt I saw had similar markings on the front strap, but the import mark on both guns is back near the ordinance mark.

So what information did you find out in your research? I've heard some were badly refinished by the Chinese, but the two I saw appeared to have legit finishes. And they all were supposed to have bad barrels. The two I saw did have post war replacement Colt barrels.

[pa_guns]

Hi

One way to look at the "value" thing:

First case

You have two absolutely perfect pistols in front of you. Both look like they just came out of the factory. One has an import mark, and the other does not. You can grab either one to store away in the safe for your collection. Which one do you buy?

Second case

You have two war relics in front of you. Neither one has more than three parts from the same manufacturer. Finish is a bit rough and who knows what shape the insides are in. One has an import mark. What do you decide when you want a pistol to go blast some tin cans?

In the first case, everybody goes for the no mark pistol. That drives up the price. In the second case, it simply does not matter and there is no significant price impact.

Bob

[Thom m]

Hey Thom, saw the pictures in the thread you mentioned. The Colt I saw had similar markings on the front strap, but the import mark on both guns is back near the ordinance mark.

So what information did you find out in your research? I've heard some were badly refinished by the Chinese, but the two I saw appeared to have legit finishes. And they all were supposed to have bad barrels. The two I saw did have post war replacement Colt barrels.
These guns were imported about thirty years ago by a guy named Eddie Faust, along with a bunch of Canadian Inglis High Powers IA is Import arms Co. The simple looking character means "public" the complicated one means Shanghai. Probably abbreviation for Shanghai public police. Most of these pistols were pretty rough and some were converted to 7.62X25 Tokerev. Mine is in great mechanicle condition but has finish wear. I had to replace the Bbl., slide stop, and grips to make it "correct". If you decide to buy these, I'd love to compare them, can you photograph them? I have about 5 or 6 hundred in mine, I think it's worth more. The import marks shouldn't devalue it too much, just part of where the gun has been.

[danf]

Shanghai police...interesting.

If the guy doesn't take my offer, I'm guessing they'll end up on one of the auction sites. I'll encourage him to take good pictures.

In terms of the valuation, I'd place these guns somewhat around "shooter plus", category. Better than a mixmaster, but not quite in the traditional collectible realm. The import mark just indicates a greater possibility of being screwed with somewhere along the way. So on one end of the continuum, there's the GI bring back with provenance, where you know it was original as issued. Then on the other end, there's the mismatched frankenpart gun, buffed to death and badly reparked. These seem to fall in that middle grey area.

I wouldn't mind owning one of these - if the price is right. Sounds like what you paid is about right.

[Thom m]

I'm betting that my gun is almost all original because the Chinese didn't have the spare parts that were available to the U.S. armouries. All the parts on my gun show about the same wear and according to Clawson, they are correct for the Serial number. I have replaced the slide stop, grips, and Bbl on this one but the rest is original as far as I can tell. The barrel, while a little older than my pistol, could well have been identical to the original. Barrels with only the "G" on them were undoubtedly still in the parts bins in 43