Very late contract Remington Rand M1911A1

[tsellati]

I received some photos recently of a very nice looking Remington Rand M1911A1 that I am hoping may be available for trade. It is said to be all original and unaltered and, to my "newbie" eyes, this looks to be the case. The blued barrel is High Standard (HS) marked and the slide has a very nice original swirl greenish parkerized finish.

I was hoping to solicit some opinions from the experts. So, here are some pictures -

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/MVC-150S.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/MVC-151S.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/MVC-152S.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/MVC-156S.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/MVC-155S.jpg

So what do you think?

Tim

[bgiven]

Late RRands exhibit a very light grey color parkerizing, and with the addition of the circular machine markings on the slide, I believe it to be correct. Good luck with it.

[tsellati]

Late RRands exhibit a very light grey color parkerizing, and with the addition of the circular machine markings on the slide, I believe it to be correct. Good luck with it.

Yep, this was my take on it as well.

Tim

[Johnny Peppers]

What is the serial number? The photographs are not sharp enough to tell.

[tsellati]

What is the serial number? The photographs are not sharp enough to tell.

I agree, it is a bit hard to tell due to poor resolution, but, it appears to be NO. 2465981. The curious thing is I have read the 1945 contract pistols fall between serial numbers #2380014-2465139.

I have asked the present owner to confirm the serial number and also to send a picture of the left side of the pistol near the trigger group. If the serial number is confirmed it will be interesting to see if an Ordnance Inspectors mark of Col. Frank J. Atwood is present. If so, perhaps the upper serial number range has to be extended.

Tim

[Johnny Peppers]

There is no doubt that it is Remington Rand, but it won't be serial number 2465981. Possibly NO.2435981.

[tsellati]

There is no doubt that it is Remington Rand, but it won't be serial number 2465981. Possibly NO.2435981.

As I am still learning, I am not too embarrassed to ask the following question. If the government contract ended with #2465391 were the pistols numbered #2465392 - #2619013 part of commercial production?

Thanks for the education.

Tim

[Scott Gahimer]

I think Johnny is right. Serial number looks like 2435981 when I enlarged the photo. I also agree the pistol looks correct.
What price is the pistol? Just curious. Thanks.

[Johnny Peppers]

As I am still learning, I am not too embarrassed to ask the following question. If the government contract ended with #2465391 were the pistols numbered #2465392 - #2619013 part of commercial production?

Thanks for the education.

Tim

One of the best ways to learn is to ask questions.
The serial numbers were issued in blocks to the manufacturers. With WWII coming to a close the Ordnance Department started cancelling contracts, and of the three remaining 1911A1 manufacturers in 1945, all had their contracts cancelled before the last serial number blocks they had been issued were filled.

[tsellati]

I think Johnny is right. Serial number looks like 2435981 when I enlarged the photo. I also agree the pistol looks correct.
What price is the pistol? Just curious. Thanks.

Actually, I am hoping the present owner is interested in trading for a WWI/WWII-era S&W Model 1917 revolver rig I have. Still waiting to hear back from him though. If a trade goes through rest assured, I will post plenty of pictures of what I hope to be my first M1911A1 :appld: .

Tim

[tsellati]

There is no doubt that it is Remington Rand, but it won't be serial number 2465981. Possibly NO.2435981.

Sir, you were absolutely correct on the serial number :appld: .

Here are some more pictures:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/MVC-560S.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/MVC-564S.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/MVC-562S.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/MVC-573S.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/MVC-575S.jpg

The current owner has indicated he believes the pistol to be worth somewhere between $1500 and $2000.

My first question to those considerably more learned than I regarding the M1911A1 is whether this pistol is correct and original from the photos provided (their quality notwithstanding)? If so, then do you think the valuation is reasonable?

At this point, there is one individual ahead of me in the negotiations over this pistol, but, if he passes then I may have a chance to acquire this pistol.

If so, do I go for it?

Tim

[stuart gildersleeve]

in my humble opinion maybe more like $1400-$1600. go for it if it is what you want. regards

Stu

[tsellati]

I am happy to report it sounds like it is a "done deal". I am going to trade my S&W 1917 rig for this M1911A1 which also comes with a rig (holster, magazine pouch, and pistol belt). I have yet to see pictures of the accessories, but I have been told the pistol's magazine is a WWI era M1911 magazine and the holster is not correct (perhaps a commercial or post-war?). Thus, if anyone has correctly marked WWII magazine and a WWII holster perhaps you can PM me.

Of course, I will post plenty of pictures once I have the pistol in hand.

Tim