Colt pistol question

[tweeder]

hey guys im new to the forum and have a question about a pistol i have have recently recived. its a 1997 West Point Academy Colt chamberd in .45acp. these are only given to graduates of USMA. to the best of my knowledge there have been less than a handful sold on the public market and am having a hard time finding a value on it. i am hoping that anyone here may be able to help me out. thanks seeing as how im new i can't post attachments so if you need pics or know of anyone i can get in contact with it would be greatly appreciated.

[lksstbls]

My reference doesn't list the Academy commemeratives but from what I recall reading on the subject, I don't believe these pistols have any value over and above what they would be worth as standard production examples of the same vintage. The exception would be that if someone were looking for an example from a specific year. Another exception would be if a specific pistol could be traced to a graduate of some distinction (not that they all don't deserve that accolade) then the value would be enhanced.

The Colt commemoratives were/are nice pistols, but there were so darn many of them made for every purpose imagined, that their value as collectors items is pretty nil.

[Hawkmoon]

... seeing as how im new i can't post attachments so if you need pics or know of anyone i can get in contact with it would be greatly appreciated.
It has nothing to do with being new. Like every Internet forum I have ever seen, this site does not allow anyone to post photos as attachments. The photos have to be hosted on an external, photo hosting site, and you post links to them.

http://forum.m1911.org/faq.php?faq=a_few_words#faq_postingpictures

[dakota1911]

I do not have clue what one would be worth, but I would look at gunbroker.com and gunsamerica.com to maybe get an idea.

[kenhwind]

Ther was one listed in the GUN DIGEST (Gun List).

[Hawkmoon]

I do not have clue what one would be worth, but I would look at gunbroker.com and gunsamerica.com to maybe get an idea.
As the original post noted, the number of them out there is limited to the number of cadets who graduate from West Point each year. And VERY few of them ever get sold, because most remain in the officer's family down through the generations. I have only seen one offered for sale, ever.

That said -- the only thing different about them is that they are engraved for the USMA Class year, and I think the officer's name or initials. There is nothing special about the pistol. I think collectibility would be limited to a small number of people, at least these days. In another hundred years they may rate a premium over a base gun of the same model, but today I would be surprised if it's worth much more than an ordinary Colt.

The seller, however, may disagree.

[smokey]

tweeder, to clarify a point. These pistols were not"given" they are purchased by the cadet.It is likely that not all graduates purchase a pistol so there are probably less for a given year than the number of grads.They are like high school yearbooks in that they have to be ordered,and paid for,well before the actual graduation.I suppose it is possible that a cadet could have ordered one and not,for some reason,graduated.If so, I would think that would be a very small number. As noted in an earlier post there has been one advertised in Gun Digest, The Magazine , for quite a while. It is listed as a West Point purchase M1991-A1 Class of 1996 it claims to be NIB with the original invoice.Asking price is $2500. You could call and see if they will reveal the original invoice price. BTW,I have NO Connection with ,or interest in this pistol.I'm only providing info in answer to the OPs question. Nick