Colt 1903 Pocket price check ($500)

AlexanderA said:
The ones that are in the thousands are the ones with the "U.S. Property" marking (so-called General Officers' pistols).

The vast majority of the U.S.-issued pistols in .32 caliber are Parkerized. The vast majority of the ones in .380 caliber are blued.
So if you find one in the opposite finish, depending on the caliber, it's quite rare and valuable. Make sure that the markings are genuine, though, and not faked. (And that it's not a refinish.)
Click to expand...
Its a bit more nuanced than that, with many different shipping destinations and variations commanding in the thousands.
If you've got a nickel 1903 or 1908 with pearl grips with any condition that letters to Wolf and Klar, for example, you are talking $2-$3k, or a singapore police model, or a Belgian contract model, or an OSS gun.
I've got the W&K-lettered 1908, today or tomorrow my Colt letter arrives and I find out if I've got a Belgian contract gun or just another hardware store 1903.
 
Last edited:
what do you think about refinishing that old pocket rocket?
Click to expand...
In the condition it's in, I would probably try to do some touch-up with Oxpho Blue and if it turned out well I'd leave it alone. The touch-up isn't going to hurt its value, IMO.

If the cold blue touch-up didn't help enough, then I'd think about having someone do a proper refinish on it. It looks like that would not be cheap, based on its condition. If I didn't want to spend the money to have it done right, I'd leave it alone.
 
To be honest, I cringe whenever I see another buffed and cold blued 1903. Patina suits the 1903's. I'll take a patina'd gun but still with crisp edges and markings over a buffed and refinished gun every day.
 
Yup. In case it's not clear from my reply, the touch-up would just be a touch-up with Oxpho. I wouldn't do anything in terms of polishing/buffing--leave that for whoever you get to do a proper refinish if that's the direction you decide to go.
 
Mark_Mark said:
what do you think about refinishing that old pocket rocket? yay or nay?
Click to expand...
If you buy it, it's yours, and yours to decide. I know folks who would always fully refinish, and those who never do so.

I'm in the camp of "chix dig scars & tattoos" and so, leave them be. Unless they surface rust all the time or otherwise offend me, leave them be. My 2¢; others' differ.
 
AlexanderA said:
The ones that are in the thousands are the ones with the "U.S. Property" marking (so-called General Officers' pistols).

The vast majority of the U.S.-issued pistols in .32 caliber are Parkerized. The vast majority of the ones in .380 caliber are blued.
So if you find one in the opposite finish, depending on the caliber, it's quite rare and valuable. Make sure that the markings are genuine, though, and not faked. (And that it's not a refinish.)
Click to expand...
Like mine? ( Type V 1944 production) and it isn't refinished. Was my stepdad's issued CC.
DSC07646.JPG


Mark_Mark said:
Here’s the photos! Looks lime $500 lol
View attachment 1195821
Click to expand...

Monac said:
That's a type 4, with the magazine safety. The magazine is blued all the way to the top, so my guess is it's a replacement. The finish is worn and a bit scratched up on one side, but it's not refinished and has no obvious signs of abuse. If it functions properly, $500 would be a reasonable price on GunBroker. I have no idea what things go for at shows or in stores any more.
Click to expand...
The SN (202749) makes it a Type III, made in 1916. No barrel bushing, no magazine disconnect. That one is pretty beat up, but might make a decent shooter and BUG.
 
silicosys4 said:
Its a bit more nuanced than that, with many different shipping destinations and variations commanding in the thousands.
If you've got a nickel 1903 or 1908 with pearl grips with any condition that letters to Wolf and Klar, for example, you are talking $2-$3k, or a singapore police model, or a Belgian contract model, or an OSS gun.
I've got the W&K-lettered 1908, today or tomorrow my Colt letter arrives and I find out if I've got a Belgian contract gun or just another hardware store 1903.
Click to expand...
Correct, and you didn't have to be a General to have one issued, but if you own one of these and have the paperwork to show it was issued to a G.O., it can triple the value. My stepdad was a NCO courier in Europe during the last year of WWII and his commanding officer issued the one I have to him, to carry concealed when he was in plain clothes, as well as a backup when in uniform. He also carried a 1911 when in uniform.
 
bangswitch said:
Like mine? ( Type V 1944 production) and it isn't refinished. Was my stepdad's issued CC.
View attachment 1196038





The SN (202749) makes it a Type III, made in 1916. No barrel bushing, no magazine disconnect. That one is pretty beat up, but might make a decent shooter and BUG.
Click to expand...
Yep, you are right. I was judging by the magazine with it, which is the style made for the pistols with the magazine safety. I assumed that the pre-mag-safety guns could not use the mag-safety magazines, but that seems to be wrong. And being all blue, that mag is a replacement anyway. I will put a note on my comment. Thanks for the heads-up!
 
Last edited:
I stumbled on to one of these, in nice if not perfect shape, at a local shop. It looked so good, I didn't look in the bore. Belatedly, figured out that I'd seen the gun before; it had belonged to a friend of my Dad's. He only shot it on New Years, with blackpowder blanks. The bore had utterly gone to hell. Happily, I found another barrel.
It's one of my favorites; these things are just elegant.
Moon
 
Mark_Mark said:
I’m thinking of putting $130 down on it! Always wanted one!
Click to expand...

That's how I ended up with mine! It was the first one I'd ever seen, and I was working at a gun shop on the weekends at the time. Oddly enough, a second one came through a little while after that was older and in much rougher shape. Mine is a Type IV; the older one might have been a Type I. It had the barrel bushing but I can't remember if it was the long or "short" slide and barrel.

I've shared this photo before, but this is my Colt 1903 and Savage 1907. Some day I might get serious about adding a Remington 51 to the assortment just for grins. The Colt dates from around 1928, and the Savage from around 1911.

32s Paired Together Resized.jpg
 
wanderinwalker said:
That's how I ended up with mine! It was the first one I'd ever seen, and I was working at a gun shop on the weekends at the time. Oddly enough, a second one came through a little while after that was older and in much rougher shape. Mine is a Type IV; the older one might have been a Type I. It had the barrel bushing but I can't remember if it was the long or "short" slide and barrel.

I've shared this photo before, but this is my Colt 1903 and Savage 1907. Some day I might get serious about adding a Remington 51 to the assortment just for grins. The Colt dates from around 1928, and the Savage from around 1911.

View attachment 1196084
Click to expand...
that Savage 07 looks amazing, who did the refinishing? good work
 
halfmoonclip said:
I stumbled on to one of these, in nice if not perfect shape, at a local shop. It looked so good, I didn't look in the bore. Belatedly, figured out that I'd seen the gun before; it had belonged to a friend of my Dad's. He only shot it on New Years, with blackpowder blanks. The bore had utterly gone to hell. Happily, I found another barrel.
It's one of my favorites; these things are just elegant.
Moon
Click to expand...
ELEGANT!

Different times! were a Man can were a flowers and curves on a gun was OK! but don't get them men wrong! they will fight you Quick
 
bangswitch said:
Like mine? ( Type V 1944 production) and it isn't refinished. Was my stepdad's issued CC.
DSC07646.JPG
Click to expand...
Yes, that's rare and valuable. Here are mine, in the typical finishes. Top: .380 (blued), bottom: .32 (Parkerized). I have documentation that the .32 was issued to a named General in 1965. There is no issuance record for the .380.

IMG_0245a.jpg
 
AlexanderA said:
Yes, that's rare and valuable. Here are mine, in the typical finishes. Top: .380 (blued), bottom: .32 (Parkerized). I have documentation that the .32 was issued to a named General in 1965. There is no issuance record for the .380.

View attachment 1196086
Click to expand...
In a way, sorry I didn't jump on one of the Colt commissioned examples, made several years ago. Did snag one of the magazines made for the run.
These are nice examples of a really handsome gun. A Glock should look so good.
Moon
 
Someone scratched their initials onto this one and a subsequent owner refinished it and put on new grips. Ironically, this made it worthless as a collectible. I got it for around $500 OTD, but that was around ten years ago. I wanted a 32 auto for my little girl to shoot when she was nine or something. (She's in college now.) They really are nice shooters. My nine-year-old girl liked shooting it and still does. :)

Colt 1903

Colt 1903

 
Mark_Mark said:
that Savage 07 looks amazing, who did the refinishing? good work
Click to expand...

Unsure on the finish on the Savage, that's how it came to me a few years ago. I'm not even 100% sure it's a refinish, the markings and edges are all still crisp and sharp, as are the internals of the gun. It's one of those pieces I can look at and wonder, "Where did you spend the Roaring 20s, the Great Depression and WWII? Was it in a drawer in a savings and loan? Accompanying a traveling salesman?"
 
Thread drift warning: My favorite part of the thing is the Savage has a striker, with a cocking knob to act as an external hammer, and the Colt is actually a hammer-fired action, despite the "Hammerless" name.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
  • Locked
1903 colt pocket
Replies
1
Views
331
Old Fuff
O
J
  • Locked
1903 Colt Pocket Pistol
Replies
5
Views
474
junedog
J
JohnnyCremains
  • Locked
Oldie but goodie...1903 Colt
Replies
6
Views
395
JohnnyCremains
JohnnyCremains
A
  • Locked
Colt 1903 question
Replies
4
Views
678
Old Fuff
O
burnse
  • Locked
How about that 1903?
Replies
15
Views
914
Mac Attack
M
Back
Top