Need help evaluating an early Colt 1911

[SloopJohnB]

Need some help evaluating a Colt 1911 I recently picked up.

I just acquired a nice re-arsenalled Colt 1911that appears to have been made in 1913. It is a bit of a "mixmaster" that is an Augusta Arsenal re-build ("AA" stamped on L/H side of frame), and was sold through DCM/NRA in July 1961. I got it, complete with paperwork from the original purchaser.
Serial # 46889 I believe puts it around 1913. The slide appears to be a later one from around serial #285,000, the barrel looks like it has a faint "HS" (hard to tell because everything was parkerized at the arsenal). Hammer is a narrow spur (Colt?), and I'm guessing the grip safety is late Colt/Rem Rand. Don't know about the thumb safety. Grips are in nice shape w/no cracks chips, and appear original to the gun.
While this is obviously not a collector piece, it is an excellent example of an early re-built 1911 with provenance to when it was released by the military, and a single owner since that time. The gun looks very nice and shoots just fine!
I would very much appreciate any info/comments you 1911 people would care to share, along with any "ballpark" estimates as to current value as is, and estimated value of what the stocks alone might be worth.
Thank you all in advance to Scott, Johnny P, Duane, and the rest of you 1911 collectors.

[Johnny P]

The stocks are not a matched pair. One is 13 row and the other 15 row. The 13 row were used late in Colt Model 1911 production.

[SloopJohnB]

Thanks Johnny. I counted one grip and not both. Another lesson about never assuming!

[Marcus]

I have an arsenal refurbished 1911 that, other than the grips (mine has WW2 Keyes bakelite grips), looks almost identical. Mine was made in 1919, slide is correct for the frame, barrel is Springfield Armory, 1911A1 grip safety, and Colt 1911A1-style wide spur hammer. The hammer has the drawing number on it, and in a message thread here regarding this there is some discussion that this might be an aftermarket part.... I'm not wholly convinced of this to the point of where I would consider replacing it until more is known about these, as mine seems somewhat different and has better/sharper detail than the one Johnny Pepper posted photos of, and matches the finish of the rest of the gun. I think it's good, but I'll be the first to admit that I'm not an expert on these pistols.

At any rate, other than the hammer and grips, appearance and condition wise my pistol is identical to yours. Overall excellent refurb condition, with clean sharp bore, and about the same amount of very light wear and handling marks.

I have mine up for sale for $1,000 which I feel is a very fair and reasonable price. In local gunshops, I've seen similar pistols go in the $1,300 to $1,600 range. I realize of course that gunshops, due to their overhead, sometimes have a significant mark-up over what things would go for between collectors. And these shops, while honest and good folks, don't always have a lot of knowledge about the originality and values of things....in fact they often ask my opinions of what things are and what they are worth. I also realize that in different areas the market for collector firearms can vary quite a bit, and I'm a reasonably affluent part of Southern California.

I wouldn't say that your gun isn't a collector piece - any straight honest 1911/1911A1 pistol or any other U.S. military firearm is a valuable and sought after item that has interest and demand at some level in the collecting community. Not as much as an all original example, but value and desirability none the less. It's a beautiful looking gun in outstanding condition, and like mine also makes a good shooter that you can take out and play with and not worry about as much as with a nice original example. And the relatively seldom encountered DCM paperwork, and original 1911 grips even if they are mismatched, would also add value and collectability.

[Duane Hansen]

Legit and marked Arsenal rebuilds have been steadily increasing in value over the last few years. As all collectible 1911 And 1911A1 pistols increase in value, the rebuilds follow right along as collector pieces in their own right. Most pistols that were rebuilt around the WWII time frame, one would usually expect to see the plastic Keyes grip panels. It is likely that someone put the Walnut grip panels back on the pistol in an effort to return it back to a more original look. This would have happened after it came into civilian hands, most likely.

As far as value now, I've seen them bringing in the $900 to $1200 range depending on how nice they look and also if they are still in the same configuration as they were when they left the Arsenal. I've seen them being advertised for much more but I don't believe that they are actually selling many of them in the higher price ranges.

[SloopJohnB]

Thank you gentlemen for your comments and observations.