Sprinfield NRA marked 1911

[martinphoto]

Can anyone direct me to info about how many NRA marked 1911's were made by Springfield Armory and what yrs. they were made. I have one and I'm trying to determine it's value.

Thanks....Marty

[Scott Gahimer]

The best place to start is with good, detailed photographs. Value is deternined primarily on originality and condition.
There is no known exact number of N.R.A. marked pistols. There are more SA N.R.A. pistols known than Colt.
Value is somewhat subjective on pistols with the N.R.A. marking. Some view them as non-original. Some feel the N.R.A. marks detract from the value, because if the N.R.A. marking is legitimate (there are fakes), they confirm the pistol was sold to the public and was not normally used by th military.

[Johnny Peppers]

Post the serial number and we can tell you what year it was made. The pistols were shipped from late 1915 until early 1917. Colts were also shipped, but since they were shipped from Springfield Armory, the Springfields predominate.
The 1903 rifle could also be purchased by NRA members at the same time, and were both Springfield and Rock Island manufacture. They were marked with the flaming bomb and NRA on the forward part of the triggerguard.
Those were much different times when our government trusted it's citizens to own the then current main battle rifle and pistol.

[martinphoto]

Thanks Scott & Johnny.....I'll take some pics of the pistol and post them here but I won't be ablr to do that till I get to work in the morning.

Marty

[martinphoto]

Here's the pics of the Springfield NRA marked 1911:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f59/martinphoto1/Colt%20NRA/03LftSideClip.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f59/martinphoto1/Colt%20NRA/14RtSideClip.jpg


http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f59/martinphoto1/Colt%20NRA/05Lftide.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f59/martinphoto1/Colt%20NRA/16RtSide.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f59/martinphoto1/Colt%20NRA/11Lftrear.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f59/martinphoto1/Colt%20NRA/12RtRear1.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f59/martinphoto1/Colt%20NRA/08lftsidedetail.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f59/martinphoto1/Colt%20NRA/18Rtsidedetail.jpg

I tried several times to make them larger but these seem to be the largests I'm allowed to post, I hope these are sufficient to review.

Thanks....Marty

[Scott Gahimer]

Normally, there isn't nearly that much "halo" around the N.R.A. marking. It looks to me as if someone has created a false halo with a dremel tool to make the marking appear struck rather than engraved. If so, the N.R.A. marking is probably fake.

I looked at both of my N.R.A. Springfields and the two pictured in Clawson's book. The N.R.A. markings themselves on this pistol don't look the same to me. But I'll admit photos aren't the best way to examine a pistol or compare markings.

Additionally, I don't see nearly as much halo around the markings in Clawson's book, nor on my pistols.

A fake marking would greatly de-value the pistol, well below what a standard Springfield Armory would be worth. Value would depend on whether a person trusted the N.R.A. marking.

http://i43.tinypic.com/qnqz28.jpg

[martinphoto]

Thanks for your reply Scott! Is there anyway to find out via s/n to confirm this is a NRA pistol.
BTW...I have updated info on that Singer you helped me with several yrs. ago...email me @ martinphoto1@verizon.net

Thanks & best regards, Marty

[Scott Gahimer]

Springfield Armory has been closed since 1968. The records were loaded up and transferred to Rock Island Arsenal, where they have remained sealed from the public ever since.
When Mr. Clawson attempted to research records there, he was unable to gain any access to the records. Those particular records that might still exist to document the sales of weapons to members of the N.R.A. probably would not contain any classified infromation. However, nobody seemed to know were those records were, among all the other records that would perhaos have classified information.
The information we might value as collectors doesn't rank very high on the priority list with the government.

[martinphoto]

Once again, thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Please email me, I have info you'd want on that Singer.

Best regards,
Marty

[bgiven]

It appears to me the 'R' and the 'A' are completely different in font, when compared closely.