Hello all! I am new to the forums as I get closer to retirement I seem to have more time on my hands to post on the "innernets"
My friend is moving to Australia from the US and was kind enough to give me quite a discount on several of his firearms.
One of these firearms is this "apparently" old 1911 and I was wondering how much I should insure it for?
It looks as though the barrel is not original and it just seems like it is in too good of shape to be authentic? I've posted a few pictures for you to look at.
The history of the firearm is that his Korean-War father obtained the pistol from his uncle in the late 50's. He kept up the maintenance on the pistol over the years but rarely fired it.
What is your assessment on the value for insurance purposes?
Serial number blurred intentionally but it is 6 digits beginning with 136xxx
Thank you so much for you time!
P.S. This colt also came with 300 rds and this cleaning box that was issued, I am told, to a platoon, and they all cleaned their pistols with this. Missing some cleaning rods...
Welcome to the forum Makarov, I am moving your question to the Ask the Pros & What's it worth forum. There is a better chance for the experts seeing it there and responding.
The barrel could easily have been replaced. It's a simple swap, and with corrosive primers, it could easily have been trashed.
That's a pre-war gun - made in 1916.
>it just seems like it is in too good of shape to be authentic?< Just because a gun's 100 years old don't mean it has to be in sad shape. Not all of them were rode hard and put away wet.
I don't know what to value it at, but I agree with George - VERY nice.
Thank you guys! Sometimes your good, sometimes your just lucky like I am...to have such a good friend hand his father's weapon down to me. I don't intend to sell it but pass it down to one of my two boys when I pass.
But I do need to get it insured. I am not sure if there is a qualified person to take a closer look at this piece near Seattle but if you do have a recommendation, please let me know.
I have it stored with my other pieces in a gun safe with ADT security as well as live video cameras around my house that activate and text me should motion be detected. Paranoid? Just a little! This is my most prized possession in my collection!
Here is what Lister said about it when I put forth the same question last week to him:
That's a great example of a tough variation to find. If it were my gun, I'd value it at $5000 for insurance purposes. You might be able to find one for less, but you'd have to look long and hard to find this variation in this condition.
Without an independent, expert, written appraisal, preferably submitted to the insurance company in advance, if there is a loss then what the gun is insured for may be meaningless.
A couple of years ago, my State Farm insurance agent called me to see if I would give him an estimation of value of some guns for another one of his clients. The man wanted to insure some guns but didn't really know what they were worth. My agent knew that I own guns, bunches of guns so he just knew I could tell him the value.
I explained that there was no way for me, a layman, to give him an exact valuation of any guns. I did look them up in my Blue Book of gun values and tell him what the book said. I never heard anything else from him so I don't know what the outcome was.
gdmoody, I'd say that's a great show of respect for your judgement although there is a little concern that State Farm would not use a establish professional source for this sort of thing. And, you did the right thing about valuation...what people would PAY and what their worth are two different insurance calculations.
Major insurance companies should use established publications from various sources for insurance purposes but that is not always possible with items that have a "Market Worth" vs. "Replacement value". My wife's diamond ring is a perfect example. They know how to measure color rating, carat size, number of facet flaw, etc...but the bottom line it comes down to "how much do YOU, the customer value it as?" That's what the premium covers.
To me the gun looks to be in basically original condition. To obtain a real assessment it needs to be in the hands of someone knowledgeable. With proper books and knowledge of original Colt finish a true value can be obtained. These guns are looked at down to every inspector mark and polish type. IF it is original 2 to 3 thousand dollars is a good place to start. If it turns out to be a parts gun still about 12 to 1500. The cleaning kit is referred to as a squad cleaning kit. They are not extremely rare but you don't run across them very often. The holster is often called a cavalry model since it will swivel when sitting on a horse.
Update: I bought an era-correct barrel for it (a 1918 barrel, and probably paid too much...) and have a Colt letter on the way!
The barrel was the only part of the gun that was not original (it was a WW2 HS barrel)
The early barrels bring a good price as they are hard to find since most have been replaced. I have a few 1911s with later barrels. Most early guns with use and original barrels have rough bores due to corrosive ammunition.
If I might suggest take the pistol and field strip it and take some more photos and post it on the 1911 Forum. They have a military 1911 section and they might give you some more info on it. Does the holster have any markings on the inside or on the back of it?
That's a nice piece of history, very nice.
Thank you Crazy Charlie. So far I've only found the RIA and date on the outside of the holster. No other markings but I do not have a 'trained eye' like you all do.
Here are the pictures of the era-correct barrel I purchased from a pistol that had the S/N 395XXX (close, right around May, 1918 to Oct. 24, 1918. My pistol was made in 1916...still checking the mail every day for my Colt letter! How long do those take? :/ )
One other question on the new barrel arrival...is that known as a hard-stamped "P" ?
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