Questions on a Colt 1911's value

[Gewehr 43]

I'm trying to help a friend's family appraise a 1911 that they just inherited. Its serial puts it in the Oct. 24, 1918 to April 10, 1919 production timeframe. It has all true 1911 features, no A1 stuff.

- Grips appear original (diamond around screws, standard checkering otherwise).
- Small proof about ½" above the mag release button.
- Has patent info and Colt's name & city/state on left side of slide, but no colt pony between the two.
- On right side of frame "United States Property" above serial number, then just below the "No" is an "O" or "0" above a capital "G."
- right side of slide: "model of 1911 US Army"
- rear of slide above the plate that holds in the firing pin is an "H"
- internally, on the slide there is a small "U" stamp on the bottom of the camming surface that the hammer rides against during recoil, resetting the hammer. This surface also has perhaps a "S" on it as well, though it is difficult to read
- on the frame, on the flat just forward of the hammer, is a "G" and an "H" or perhaps "I"
- on the flat forward and to the right of the feed ramp is a "3" stamp
- barrel has a few indistinguishable proofs on the portion that is exposed when the gun is in battery.
- mag base marked:

19200-
ASSY 5508694
MFR. 1M291

The gun and barrel appears to have been parkerized. It's odd... the surface under the parkerizing appears rough, but not pitted. It definitely is not corrosion that was finished over, but just a rough surface. All of the markings are crystal clear, or I would think it had been blasted by some means. No evidence of bluing remains.

If you guys have any idea what this pistol might be worth, I'd be very appreciative to hear it. Thanks, Gents.

[Johnny Peppers]

The OG on the right side is for Ogden Arsenal where it was probably rebuilt. The roughness under the phosphate finish is from the sandblasting used to remove any rust or old finish before before being refinished. Magazine is Vietnam or post Vietnam era, and would have to know what the barrel markings are to identify it.

[Gewehr 43]

Thanks for the info. The markings on the barrel are absolutely indiscernible. I looked at them very very closely when I had the pistol in hand but couldn't make anything out. The best I can say is that it looked like someone was trying to stamp a letter on the top of the barrel above the chamber, but was holding the die at an angle to the surface and so only a small fraction of the letter was actually struck. I hope that makes sense. Other than the two fractional markings described above, there are no other markings on the barrel at all. :-(

[1saxman]

Did you look on the sides of the lugs under the barrel? How about on the rear of the barrel hood where it meets the slide? How about on the slide under the firing pin stop plate? Backs of grips? The 1M291 magazines are generally good shooting mags but of course have no collector value now - maybe in 50 years! The barrel could be anything as Johnny said. These rebuilds were done to get more pistols into the war, and it could have been used after that at any time up to the obsolesence of the 1911 platform. A Viet Nam era replacement barrel is very distinctive, with a part number and chrome-lined bore/chamber, so we know it's not one of those. WWII barrels are marked on the lugs, like 'HS' for High Standard, or 'Colt .45 Auto' on the left underside of the chamber for Colt barrels only. The WWI barrels had a mark on top of the chamber, various ones at different times. I expect if it's the original barrel that the markings are worn off for the most part. It's actually good that the barrel is Parkerized like the gun, because it implies that the barrel in the pistol at that time was judged good, so it was Park'd along with the rest of it. It still could be a replacement, but I like the odds of it being original. Maybe some of us could tell with more info and some good pictures. Look at the LH side of the slide again - could there be a pony at the back behind the cocking serrations? Are the grips worn and rounded at the bottom? Unless the grips were excellent at the rebuild, they usually put on the brown composite A1 grips. The original grips might be getting pretty worn by this time, but then again maybe not, if the pistol had light use over the years. I love these rebuilds - fascinating pistols that could have been used any time from manufacture right into the '80s.

[Gewehr 43]

Saxman, shoot me an email at cdouglasn@gmail.com and I'll get you a couple pictures. I'm not at liberty to post them on the web since the gun is not mine.

Thanks!