Colt 1911 NM Help

[N8Gunner]

I acquired this Colt M1911 last month and am just now getting around to giving it a good look over.Serial 3 4103xx and UNITED STATES PROPERTY marked on the left side of the frame. MODEL OF 1911 US ARMY on the right side of the slide. The finish appears to be a deep blue almost black. The barrel is marked NM7267717 COLTS MFG CO. and has the number 1219696. The bushing is marked NM 7267118. I can find no re-build markings on the frame and the lettering and markings on the gun do not appear to be buffed out, with the exception of the "Rampant Colt" at the left rear of the slide.

The magazine that came with it is 2 tone, with an R at the toe .
The grips are nice condition diamond panels, unmarked.

Can anyone tell me what I have and what it is worth?
Thanks.
http://i31.tinypic.com/1zlxk08.jpg
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http://i27.tinypic.com/296gkdw.jpg
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http://i31.tinypic.com/2ccld39.jpg
http://i27.tinypic.com/6f6w.jpg

[Johnny Peppers]

This is my reply from the same question posted on the CSP board:

Bright sunlight is the worst place to try to make gun pictures. If you have to make the pictures outdoors, find some bright shade to make the pictures.
In that set of pictures the pistol looks refinished, and has several replaced parts. The barrel came out of a Springfield Armory NM pistol, and the 1219696 is the serial number of the pistol it came out of. Look at the side of the bushing to see it it has four numbers electro penciled there. The grips also appear to be replacements. The contour of the front sight doesn't look right, and could possibly be a late 1911A1 sight. I believe the magazine was a full blued that has been acid dipped to remove the blue at the top to appear to be an original two tone.
Based on the pictures shown, I would say value was somewhere in the $800/900 range. Maybe better pictures would show different.

[bgiven]

IMO it has been restored. Barrel, barrel bushing, grips, magazine, grip safety, and probably the front site are not original. BTW the temper line on the mag looks to be restored or faked. What you have is a mixmaster with very little collectible value.

[Duane Hansen]

The front grip strap looks almost like it was stippled (for better grip on NM and Bullseye shooters) and then someone tried to grind it off and make it smooth again. A gun can only be original once, and after that it's not really a Collector's piece anymore.

[rafsob]

I don't get that price stated. The Blue Book has a Colt with a minimum of 60% at $1000. This gun surely looks more then 60%, I would think. But I must admit I am no expert. Very fine looking gun sir.

[Duane Hansen]

rafsob.....when a pistol is refinished or not original with parts changed you can throw the value guide away. It is talking about guns with original finish and correct parts. When a pistol has been altered it becomes a shooter only and really has no collectability and as such only worth about $600 to $800 max