Colt 1911 38 Super Question

Reptile · Apr 16, 2017

Magnumite said:
Commanders were commercial pistols. Commercial pistols had a "C" in different positions of the serial numbers depending on time of production. The serial number range of the pistol in question would place its production in 1912 the 'LW' withstanding.

Blue Book indicates Commanders presented to geetsls and all serial numbers had prefixes. If there is a source indicating noncommercial Commander serial numbers I'd be interested in being directed to it. Always willing to learn.

This pistol appears in the on-line Colt serial number database as a 1950 Commander if the search term used is "4496LW". It does have the verified proof stamp on the trigger guard. I have not been able to field strip it to check the slide and frame internals.

Magnumite · Apr 17, 2017

Okay, that works, that's something I can learn from. Thank you. I didn't realize that resource was available. The VP didn't show in the pics which was the first thing I looked for.

Reptile · Apr 17, 2017

Magnumite said:
Okay, that works, that's something I can learn from. Thank you. I didn't realize that resource was available. The VP didn't show in the pics which was the first thing I looked for.

It's a lousy photo and the VP was lightly stamped.

somd_mustangs · Apr 17, 2017

Magnumite said:
Commanders were commercial pistols. Commercial pistols had a "C" in different positions of the serial numbers depending on time of production. The serial number range of the pistol in question would place its production in 1912 the 'LW' withstanding.

Blue Book indicates Commanders presented to generals and all serial numbers had 'C' prefixes. If there is a source indicating noncommercial Commander serial numbers I'd be interested in being directed to it. Always willing to learn.

The Blue Book isn't always complete (or accurate in some cases)... and sometimes you have to dig across several sections to get a better picture.

Other commercial Colt's on the 1911 frame w/o a "C" would include the Super 38 and Ace which each had their own S/N range starting at 1 (around 1930).

If you look thru Poyer he has several tables of "non-C" commercial S/N's, I'm sure Clawson does too but I don't have $1k to drop on his book

My first stop is usually www.coltautos.com for production info, pics etc, but in this case not helpful because he doesn't cover the Commander.

Regardless, the OP pistol isn't original finish but still has some value; Super 38's have a cult following and aren't all that common.
I've been looking for a LW Super 38 off and on and haven't found one yet;
the early .45 ACP LW's in nice original shape are not cheap either.

One note about the Blue Book... many of the Colt prices haven't been updated since 2009 or so! (Commander was updated in 2016 though).

Alphabrew · Apr 17, 2017

My grandfather had a Colt Super 38 and shortly after he died my grandmother sold it and a German Drilling for $25 each :mad54:

somd_mustangs · Apr 17, 2017

Alphabrew said:
My grandfather had a Colt Super 38 and shortly after he died my grandmother sold it and a German Drilling for $25 each

ouch... where's that star trek triple-palm slap pic ?

Magnumite · Apr 17, 2017

I use the Blue Book as resource. As far as pricing, the market has been so tumultuous lately I've been using other ways of pricing guns. I wasn't aware of the no "C" serial numbering. Thanks. I'd love to hsve the Clawson book...prices asked are out of sight big time

Reptile · Apr 18, 2017

I decided to pass on this one. Too much uncertainty. Thanks for the helpful input.

Colt 1911 38 Super Question

The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Northeast

Member Benefits:

Reptile

Ultimate Member

Magnumite

Ultimate Member

Reptile

Ultimate Member

somd_mustangs

-----

Alphabrew

Binary male Lesbian

somd_mustangs

-----

Magnumite

Ultimate Member

Reptile

Ultimate Member

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Latest threads

Forum statistics

Share this page