Colt 1903 auction find

[silicosys4]

Lucked into an online auction with bad quality photo's and no bids, I could see even with the bad photo's that the finish was original and mostly there. Took a chance and put the starting bid in, woke up in the morning to find I'd won it.
Here are the auction pictures I was working with,

The one good, in focus, closeup picture showed original finish though.

I was a little nervous waiting for it to show up, as there could easily have been unseen rust and pitting issues due to the poor photos.
I got pretty lucky though, this is what showed up.

Lots of little dings and nicks in the finish, though the bluing itself is in good shape. Late 1940 production, so I've requested a Colt letter just to see if it went anywhere interesting during the war.
Anyways, I guess the moral of the story is,
Bad auction pictures sometimes hide decent guns and make minor issues seem much worse than they actually are,
and a little due diligence instead of dismissing bad pictures outright can pay off.

 

[PCFlorida]

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

 

[Gork10]

Great find. One of my all time favorite autos. Let us know how she shoots.

 

[chiefs-special-guy]

I always really liked those although it seems rather anemic to go to war with! Nice gun!

 

[Armybrat]

I always really liked those although it seems rather anemic to go to war with! Nice gun!

My Dad carried my Grandpa’s 1903 as a backup to his issued .45 while in France 1944-45.
It isn’t nearly as nice as the OP’s though.

 

[dh1633pm]

I got this one in August. It was pretty filthy. All cleaned up now. It shot well. Appears to be a 1924.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Excellent score! Factory mags your friend, despite the price.

 

[Tallball]

Nice score! Those are fun pistols to shoot. I've also been able to score some deals on GB due to poor pictures and/or descriptions. Your good eye for detail led you to a nice pistol.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Nice find, congratulations.

I always marvel that someone will use lousy photos or won't bother checking his/her spelling when auctioning something expensive. These photos aren't great, but they are far from the worst I've seen -- at least they show that the rampant colt on the slide hasn't been worn or polished off, which is usually the first thing to go.

 

[silicosys4]

Nice find, congratulations.

I always marvel that someone will use lousy photos or won't bother checking his/her spelling when auctioning something expensive. These photos aren't great, but they are far from the worst I've seen -- at least they show that the rampant colt on the slide hasn't been worn or polished off, which is usually the first thing to go.

Truth be told, probably the number one reason I'm reasonably good at sussing out good guns from bad photos is because I'm a bad photographer, and I know what bad photography can do to a nice gun, lol.
There are a few people I know who run online auctions and have the opposite talent, taking very clear, high-resolution photos that show deficiencies without either highlighting or overlooking them. The person I've seen who I think is the best at it uses a room with beige walls and very powerful LED lights at each corner aimed upwards with diffusers, with the gun resting on a table with a high thread count monotone cloth background. He uses a decent, not spectacular digital camera, but its more about the lighting. More indirect light the better.
He made a few of my guns look somehow better than in person, but yet still completely honest without hiding anything...it's a very effective presentation.
His auction photo's are the best I've ever seen, and I'm sure many of the members here have seen them.

 

[Tallball]

It reminds me of the "You get what you pay for" quote.

You can also pay with patience and expertise, instead of only money.

 

[CapnMac]

Nice score, better than mine:

Although, I did get a decent deal on the price
Dark background of the tablet does make the edges look a touch more worn than they are.

 

[Gork10]

Here's mine. Very finish challenged, but I love it. 200 bucks.

 

[dh1633pm]

Nice 1903s. Mine shoots nice and fits in the hand good. Thanks for all the additional pictures. Got lots of 32 ammo so that won’t be an issue. @silicosys4 I hope you like your find.