An Old Colt

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That is one heck of a gift!

If you are curious about the gun:

Take some clear close ups of all the markings and tell us the rough serial number range and you’ll find out if it’s a complete wartime gun or an arsenal rebuild, a commercial gun. a rough estimate of the worth and the age, etc. :thumbup:

Again, that looks like a real sweet one, congrats. :)

Stay safe.
 
1933 Commercial Model according to Colts website.

Thats a heck of a gift!

Looks refinished to me. It could be the light, but the lustre looks a bit off, some of the markings are shallow, and its a bit too shiny for the period, IMO. It can be hard to tell, though- some Colts let the factory with shallow marks when the stamps were getting worn. An expert would have to look at it to confirm the finish.

Still, even if its been refinished, easily worth $1500. Cant tell from the pics, but if its original high-polish blue, add another $800-1000..

Very, very nice!
 
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NIGHTLORD40K said:
1933 Commercial Model according to Colts website.

Thats a heck of a gift!

Looks refinished to me. It could be the light, but the lustre looks a bit off, some of the markings are shallow, and its a bit too shiny for the period, IMO. It can be hard to tell, though- some Colts let the factory with shallow marks when the stamps were getting worn. An expert would have to look at it to confirm the finish.

Still, even if its been refinished, easily worth $1500. Cant tell from the pics, but if its original high-polish blue, add another $800-1000..

Very, very nice!
Click to expand...


Thank you. That is more information than I would have found in a month of searching! Not sure abt the finish. If original, not the best job from the factory. If redone, pretty good compared to others I have seen. I need to give it a good cleaning and take new photographs.

Not a big self loader fan but will keep this one for a while. It does have the type of hammer I like to see. The sculpted thumb pad instead of the sawn off flat ones.

upload_2020-10-19_6-36-1.jpeg

Kevin
 
I am not expert enough to tell a good reblue from factory, but will comment that in 1933 there was a standard feature you can hardly find any more. The gun is all the same color (polish). In the 1950s Colt started matte finishing the "rounds" but polished the slide and frame flats, and the controls. My 1965 Woodsman Match Target is polished the same all over except for the top of the barrel, the slide rib, and the rear face of slide-frame. Glare reduction, don't you know.

There are a lot of high end guns who don't get the attention to polish the frame the same as the slide and very few with polished slide stop and safety. And engraved guns with coverage only of the slide flats.
 
Beautiful. I need a 1911 in my hand again. Sold the two that I had in favor of 9mm. I'm gonna start hunting for a 9mm 1911. The old colts are beautiful, I have a 1903 that I want to possibly get refinished.
 
For a gun that is meant to be used, a high polish blue is just terrible. I had a Colt Series 70 (with a matte slide top, but polished sides) that would start to show rusty fingerprints unless kept constantly oiled. That, and the "collet bushing," caused me to get rid of it rather quickly.

The proper finish for a working gun, IMO, is either Parkerizing or a dull bluing. A rough finish lets it retain lubricants and preservatives.

In view of the above, my feeling is that the OP's gun got very little actual use. It doesn't even show the typical signs of holster wear, not to mention the "idiot mark" below the slide stop.
 
AlexanderA said:
For a gun that is meant to be used, a high polish blue is just terrible. I had a Colt Series 70 (with a matte slide top, but polished sides) that would start to show rusty fingerprints unless kept constantly oiled. That, and the "collet bushing," caused me to get rid of it rather quickly.
Click to expand...

I have a Gold Cup, bought in the 70's that meets all of the above criteria except the rust problem, unlike my 2 Kimbers it's never been back to the factory, most accurate of the other 6 1911's I own. Only problem is after 45 years of service the trigger now breaks at about 2lbs.:)
 
AlexanderA said:
For a gun that is meant to be used, a high polish blue is just terrible. I had a Colt Series 70 (with a matte slide top, but polished sides) that would start to show rusty fingerprints unless kept constantly oiled. That, and the "collet bushing," caused me to get rid of it rather quickly.
Click to expand...
Like this one? I don't mind having to keep it wiped down; storing it away from humidity is key. I remember the day when we'd say, "Life's too short to carry an ugly gun."
Series 70-2.jpg

But note, the OP's Colt (which I see zero evidence of refinishing on) came from back in the day when the factory polished every part (top of slide, bottom of frame, etc) unlike this '70s production.

Guy local to me trying to sell a vintage Colt, not even in as nice shape as the OP's, for $2800. StrawHat, whatever you do, if you decide to sell it, list it here ;):)
 
Old Dog said:
...I remember the day when we'd say, "Life's too short to carry an ugly gun."...
Click to expand...

Too short to carry an ugly gun or an ugly holster!

Old Dog said:
...But note, the OP's Colt (which I see zero evidence of refinishing on) came from back in the day when the factory polished every part (top of slide, bottom of frame, etc) unlike this '70s production...
Click to expand...

Something about that era. Companies were expected to turn out a good product and they did. Look at the S&W revolvers from the same time frame.

QUOTE="Old Dog, post: 11676381, member: 12473"]..StrawHat, whatever you do, if you decide to sell it, list it here ;):)[/QUOTE]

I will take that under consideration.

Kevin
 
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