Last weekend I went gun shopping with a buddy. We went to see a colt 1911 that he heard about from a friend of a friend. He's a newbie so I was obligated to go and save him from himself. It turns out to be a pretty old looking Colt 1911A1. It is authentic looking but it does not have any serial numbers or markings on frame. I looked all over the gun and did not find anything SN related. The only markings are on the slide, which appear similar to WWI and WWII 1911 I've seen. My friend was still interested but I eventually talked him out of it. I got suspicious because frame looked like it had some buffing marks and a slight tint that's slightly different vs. rest of finish. It is pretty worn so I maybe wrong. I've seen photos of old US property guns and the buffing area would appear consistent with US markings and the original serial #. The seller said it belonged to his grandpa who was a WWII vet and recently passed away. You must know what I was thinking about this connection.
Now the question is if it'd be legal to buy or possess this gun without any serial number. It would have been a local private buy, which is fully legal in this state without FFL transfer or paperwork.
Also was it a frequent practice for GI to come home with sidearm and just keep it? I'm guessing in this situation Grandpa ground off the SN and US Property markings so he won't get in trouble.
Now the question is if it'd be legal to buy or possess this gun without any serial number. It would have been a local private buy, which is fully legal in this state without FFL transfer or paperwork.
Also was it a frequent practice for GI to come home with sidearm and just keep it? I'm guessing in this situation Grandpa ground off the SN and US Property markings so he won't get in trouble.
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