Price check on 1911 WWI Redo

[bnew]

Hi I have a NIB Colt 1911 WWI reproduction. I want to sell it and I wanted to know what a fair asking price would be?

[Krag Fan]

There has been one up on Calguns for $2,250 for quite a while.

[bnew]

If its been there for that long , I guess that's too much. Thanks

[Johnny P]

Weren't there two models? First had the heat blue finish which had been farmed out, and the next one was in house tank blued.

[bnew]

Johnny, I didn't know that. I wonder, is there a way to tell the difference. I know you they farmed them out to. But when you ask him he must be sworn to secrecy , he doesn't give a lot of information.

[Johnny P]

The heat blue has a somewhat iridescent blue color where the hot blue has a dull flat blue color.

[bnew]

Johnny thanks, I will check tonight and let you and everyone know.

[bnew]

I can tell you about my WWII , 1911's but not this. I bought it because I thought I would shoot it. Well it still sits in the safe. I figured I sell it and buy a HP for my son.

[Dave in Pa]

First issue serial number started or ended with WMK 2nd issue started or ended with WWI.The WMK marked 1911's seem to command more of a premium if unfired and with all original accessories box etc.

[Blockislander]

I Have seen hem sell for $1200-$1500. Try the Colt Forum and someone will probably pick it up.

[jonnyo55]

The first "carbonia blue" WMK series were finished by Doug Turnbull...perhaps the best restorer of vintage Colt finishes out there. The finish he applied is breathtaking, and the pistol itself is as accurate as any Gold Cup I've fired. These were a product of the Colt Custom Shop, and it shows!

[Johnny P]

I had always heard that Ron's Gun Shop finished the WMK Colts. Where does the information come from that Turnbull did it?

[Allen]

I Have seen hem sell for $1200-$1500. Try the Colt Forum and someone will probably pick it up.

That looks like the going price. Here's a couple on GunBroker.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=543733425

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=543507329

[jonnyo55]

Turnbull had a display at Louisville a few years back, and one of their reps confirmed their doing the finish on the carbonia (WMK prefix) pistols. The only thing that bugs me about these is that Colt left the "feathering" (metal peened up by the stamping process) around the various roll stamps, while virtually all M1911 series pistols until recently had the feathering polished off prior to finishing. Knowing Turnbull's reputation, I asked why THEY had not performed this step. The answer was that Colt had simply refused to pay for them to do this...plus, it likely would have disturbed the "rough" 1917-style machining marks that were part of the package.

It seems like a lot of owners have just stuck these away in the safe, which is a shame. Mine is an absolutely delightful shooting pistol, tiny sights notwithstanding. The trigger pull is match grade, and the pistol is custom-shop tight and is sighted in perfectly. I've shot more than one "one-ragged-hole" groups with mine. One of the neat things about them is that they are built as as a straight M1911, with none of the extra safeties found on current Gov't models.

My opinion is that these pistols are currently undervalued, and should increase in value significantly as time goes by.

[Johnny P]

Everything I find on the internet indicates Ron's Gun Shop did the finishing, but maybe Turnbull did some too.

Anyone else have knowledge of this.

Colt sort of got their mission confused on this one. I had never heard that the pistols were custom built at Colt, but seems strange that if so they didn't take the time to finish polish the slide.