Value of Colt 1911 ser. 440xxx

[donb]

I am a 1911 novice looking for my first USGI 1911. I had the opportunity to inspect this gun in a small gun shop and have a few pics attached, sorry for the poor quality, but they were the best I could do with my phone under the circumstances.

In hand, the finish on the parts is very inconsistent. The frame has very light and weak blue while the slide shows no blue and speckles of rust, I think I could have flaked some off with my finger nail. The barrel as viewed through the ejection port is marked with what appears to be a letter P with a letter H partially over stamping it and both oriented as to be read with the barrel in a horizontal position, didn't get a pic.

I'd say it was a put together gun, but what do I know!

The price tag was $2500. I'd welcome opinions whether I should make an offer on it, and if so what you think a fair value would be?

Thanks!

[Mike Josephic]

Looks to me by the serial number it's what is referred to as a "black army" Colt, 1918 production.
They had a rather poor dull black finish that flaked off easily and usually what remains is a brown
patina -- as shown on your example.

Your example also shows quite a bit of pitting and that and the overall condition makes $2,500 rather
pricey for this pistol. If it were me, I'd walk away -- if you have $2,500 to spend you can do much better.
There are nicer ones out there.

If you really want to buy it, I would not pay more than $800 - $1,000 for this girl. JMHO

[Johnny P]

Agree. Grossly over priced.

[donb]

Thanks for the advise!
I'll keep looking.

[joem]

You might walk in with 8 or 9 - $100.00 crisp bills and plunk them down on the counter and see if it gets his attention. Have another 1 or 2 in the other pocket if you really want it.

[Waltherman]

You might want to pass on this one, unless $700 will buy it.

[Hard Dog]

Sir, I have a 1911 that I bought from a friend of a friend that belonged to her great grand father who served in WW1. The S/N is 312XXX and according to the colt records was made in 1918. The finish on my gun is similar to your but no signs of anything "flaking" off. The stamp to the rear of the trigger guard on the left side of the frame is illegible in the third photo you have provided but the one on my gun looks like an eagles head. I've been told it is an inspectors mark accepting the pistol for US purchase. My gun was appraised by a local militaria dealer a few years ago for $1500. HD, out.

[da gimp]

the one thing to remember about "appraisals"....... they are generally provided to establish a value on an item listed on an insurance policy........ the appraised value of most items is generally quite a bit higher than what that piece will sell for, cash in hand....A dealer will quite often offer even less than that "cash price" because he needs room to make money/trade on an item........ Watch Pawn Stars (on TV's History Channel I think), they have to explain this to most people who bring stuff into their shop to sell/pawn.

ADDED: When our guys are offering a value, it really is what you should pay for an item.....tops. There used to be a difference in the value of an item, depending on where it was being sold.. with the big internet gun auction boards/sites, this difference has lessened.

For example, it would be harder to sell a VW convertible in Alaska.............while in a college town in Texas or Florida, there might be many young ladies that would be interested in it.

[cwbuff]

For comparison, here is a Black Army:
DSC_0013.jpg