COLT 1911 QUESTION

[johnny blaze]

Hello
There is an auction tomorrow. I just got off the phone with the auction house. They had advertised a Colt 1911. That is one of the pistols that I am interested in.
They told me that it says Colt on the slide, but the frame says Essex.
I am trying to find an approximate price range for this pistol. Since it is not a 100 per cent Colt, it seems that it would be worth less.
They told me that it was around 70 to 80 percent condition range.
Anyone got a rough shot as to value? I know it could be many different slides. It is a full size 1911.
Thanks

 

[Mad Magyar]

It's a hybrid...However, Essex Arms is noted for quality slide & frame modifications....If you are looking for a shooter, and not an original matching Colt; go for it...
Difficult to give you a price range w/o more of a description...With the finish being as you described, it's possible it's more holster wear than range use...
Good luck...

 

[GunNut]

Tough call as far as price, I just paid $459 OTD for a 99% condition never fired Colt 1991A1 in the factory box. So for me it would have to be cheap and in good working condition.

 

[HSMITH]

I wouldn't give more than about $250 for it. Essex frames, while decent, aren't very expensive and this gun is a put-together of unknown quality. It may not even run, so I would have a hard time gambling much money on it.

 

[johnny blaze]

Thanks for the replies. As mentioned, it may not even fire.
I have a ball park figure to go by now.

 

[XavierBreath]

This sounds like a home brew special, a surplus slide on an inexpensive aftermarket Essex frame. Most likely, the barrel and small parts are US surplus as well. It might be a fair shooter. If so, it's worth about $300 or so. It might not be a decent shooter. If that is the case, it's worth about $150 in parts.

From an auction unfamiliar with guns, I would expect them to see "Colt" and start bids way to high. Some idjit will likely buy it for twice what it is worth.

 

[johnny blaze]

Well, I went to the auction. I checked the 45 out, and it was a series 70 slide on a essex frame. The frame had been sanded or something, and someone used a electro plating device to gold plate the frame.
It looked really bad. I heard several people looking at it saying, LOOK, IT's A COLT. I was really surprised how many people did not know that it was not 100% Colt.
I was surprised when it started out at 250.00. FINAL PRICE - 450.00 Plus tax.
I thought that was bad enough, but they had a Taurus 99, 9mm. I little rough condition. Started at 150.00 - FINAL PRICE - 350.00, plus tax.
And the ultimate - a High Point, 9mm. FINAL PRICE - 275.00 plus tax.
I think I will quit going to gun auctions after this.

 

[GunNut]

Kind of figured that being an auction that all sense of reality would be lost.

Most people have no idea what guns are worth, and end up paying way more than they are worth.

 

[Brian D.]

Johnny B, that's pretty much how I've seen things go at any auction that advertised ahead of time and included guns. Somebody (and not just an auctioneer's buddy/shill) will get carried away, with any firearm they recognize, and drive the bidding into crack-smokin' territory.

Only time an auction yielded good results for me, it was unadvertised, held during the middle of the week on a snowy day, and at the door the flier didn't list any firearms, just some jewelry, odds and ends, and so-called Rookwood pottery. (Some was genuine, rest was half-baked knockoff.)

What made this better was that only one other guy was looking at the handguns before the selling started. I took him off to the side for a confab, to see if we could stay off of each other's toes so to speak. That way we each got what we were most interested in without getting into a bidding war.