M1 carbine info and value???

[BlueFalcon76]

I have a National Postal Meter M1 Carbine Serial Number 148xxxx. It appears to be in very good condition. There is no pitting or rust. It has 70%-80% of the original finish. The barrel is stamped Underwood 4-43, and just below that is what looks like a circle with fire coming out of the top. On the bottom of the receiver where the trigger housing pin goes is stamped II. The front sight has an N stamped on it. The barrel band is stamped KI. The rear sight is the adjustable one and is stamped Hl. The operating slide is stamped with a Z. The bolt is the flat one not the rounded one and is stamped with an N and l4. The trigger housing is marked ROCK-OLA. The hammer is stamped II. The sear has an S on it. The trigger is stamped LT. On the safety it looks like a horseshoe with a 3 in it. The mag release is marked CC and below that there is a M. Those were all the markings I could find. Does this have any collectors value? Is it worth putting money into it or just keep as a shooter? I will add some pictures if you would like. Thanks for your time.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Not An Expert

I'm not an expert, but I notice at least two manufacturers in that list. I own an all-original Rock-Ola. Current price in shoppes is in the $600-$800 range, unless you pick one up at Big-5, in which case they're $1,000 or so.

Yours sounds like it may have been refurbed at arsenal (or "rearsenaled"), at which time worn/damaged parts were replaced with suitable -- if not original -- parts.

In my non-expert opinion, you seem to have a shooter.

Someone with more detailed experience may suggest otherwise.

 

[Sunray]

Rock-Ola only made 13 of the 60 parts.

 

[hso]

Any M1 carbine in excellent condition these days is collectible.

The more parts original to an excellent condition carbine the more collectible it is. Keep in mind that many, if not most, "original" parts will be from companies other than the manufacturer of the receiver that were subcontracted to supply parts since National Postal Meter never made all the parts that went into their guns anyway. An Underwood barrel may be correct, but it may have been an arsenal replacement. The books you need for parts ID are Larry Ruths WAR BABY! and WAR BABY COMES HOME. For maintenance you need THE M1 CARBINE OWNERS GUIDE, by Larry Ruth and Scott Duff.

Your carbine probably has been to the arsenal and rebuilt. If it doesn't have the flip rear sight, bayonet lug and push-button safety it was arsenal rebuilt at the end of or after WWII at some point. If those early parts are there you could have one that didn't get rebuilt.

If you want to turn it into a project and if you can find nearly new NPM-appropriate parts in your area you could go to the trouble to reassemble it as it came from the factory, but most M1 carbines that saw battle are a mix of parts because they were designed to have all the parts from a platoon tossed into a barrel and reassembled without regard to part manufacturer.

 

[rcmodel]

Just so you know, that "looks like a circle with fire coming out of the top" is the Army Ordnance "Bomb" acceptance stamp.

I agree you have an arsenal re-build sometime after WWII, although the Underwood barrel may be orginial.

NPM could not / did not make thier own barrels and Underwood supplied most of them..

rc

 

[rocky branch]

US military pieces were constantly refurbed and upgraded.
To find one that is totally original is next to impossible.
In recent years, enterprising individuals have scoured gunshow parts bins with flashlites and magnifying glasses in wierd attempts to "unfurb" pieces.

Your carbine is about as standard as any you will find.
Anybody paying premium prices for "unfurbs" is fooling himself and actually victim of a faker.

 

[rcmodel]

Boy, you got that right!

Anyone who was in the service would know an all matching, totally correct weapon would only last as long as the first arms room cleaning session with a bunch of bored PFC's doing their best to mix up the parts!

rc

 

[logjam]

Value of M-1 Carbines seems to fluxuate with the supply of new imports, which sometimes come in in batches. I've seen $2300 to $600. A purist will give different values for different makers. Some are more rare than others.

I have several Carbines which I bought when they were still cheap. They were considered near junk for decades. Mine, however; shoot good and straight. One's a Inland and the other a Union Switch and Signal.