TexasCHLforum.com

57Coastie wrote:
Well done, Smyrna. I might venture to add one more element to your comprehensive list.

Provenance -- as with most any collectible item. I, for example, have owned and fired a lovely c.1916-17 M1911 for nigh on to fifty years. It has provenance reflecting that it went to France for both WWI and WWII. I will not venture to put a price tag on that history, but it is an element which should not be ignored in valuing a firearm if there is such in its background. As another example, my collection includes a firearm whose serial number indicates that it may have been at Harper's Ferry at the time of John Brown's raid -- uncertain, but not excluded as a possibility. I could not put a price tag on this element either, but I was offered a premium by a prospective, but unsuccessful, purchaser.

Jim

So true, Jim! Oh, the stories they could tell if they could talk! To have a traceable history to a firearm is sometimes priceless.

Hard to say...Values of old military 1911s vary widely according to condition, amount of original finish, correct configuration of ALL parts, ordnance marks, etc. My latest Blue Book (which is about 2 years old) shows $500 for 60% condition up to $1300 for 98% condition. This assumes original finish and original configuration of parts. With that said, street value or collector value is determined by what the buyer is willing to pay which in many cases is more than the book value. Do a search of Gunbroker completed auctions and you'll have a better idea of what people are willing to pay for a similar pistol.

The trouble is, many of these old warhorses were customized at some point when they were relatively cheap and are not in their original glory. My dad has a pristine example that he picked up many years ago for $75. One of the first handguns I ever shot. I've been addicted to 1911s since.

As far as Remington Rands, there were just over one million produced between 1943-1945 making them the most plentiful government contract 1911s. The rarer government contract manufacturers command many times over. If you find a Singer (as in Singer Sewing Machine Company) you will have one of only 500 ever produced by that company....Book value of an all original 60% Singer...$12000. Yep three zeros. WOW!