PumpDaddy

I'd atleast think about giving the original owners first dibs, reminds me or when me and my ex HAG, bought our first house, 28 years ago. It had been vacant for 10 months, the old man and woman that lived there had died and we bought it from their daughter. I found two wooden steamer crates pushed way up under the front in the basement, (dirt floor and DARK) inside was tea cups and sausers that had the Rising Sun painted on them and I'll call them scarfes, about 2'x3' with all kinds of Japenese designs on them and dated in the early 1940's, and loads of other "stuff". I called their daughter and told her I found the crates and there was alot of old stuff in them, did she want it, her response was "Naw, it's just junk". Well needless to say, the ex had her lawyer fight like crap to keep the stuff in the divorce. The last my daughter told me was that her mother had the stuff appaised and insured, along with the old doll collection. But hey, it's only money, actually in the 6 figure range.

PeteRR

Usually the first three digits will tell. Take a look here. This site lists serial numbers from 1912-1945. Let us know what batch of pistols it's from.

Link

I asked a bunch of 1911 guys about it in a general manner. I didn't give any specifics. If you tell me what batch and maybe pics of the condition of the pistol I could, if you want, ask them for a value. Let me know.

Redleg

Most states, it is NOT an option to register handguns. Here, it's a 4 yr felony. Unless he is an ex-felon, have him get his purchase permit, take it in for the safety inspection and registration. Clear the headaches it'll create. What's the point of having a trophy, if you can't show anybody? If it's safe enough to shoot, like Top said, you may not want it restored. If you are gonne have it restored, there is a good chance at losing it anyway, if it was checked at the company doing the restoration, and found to have been involved in a crime. Also, would you want a major crime to go unsolved? Do what you want, just some stuff to think about.

jfpointer

I think he found it rather than purchased it. Or are you using that as a general term for the permit to possess it regardless of method of acquisition? I'm just curious because we have guns in our family that have been handed down from one generation to another that I'm sure have never been registered.

ddestruel

Alot of Part timers in the army used to take thier guns home and never return them to the armory back in the day. Most Gov issued 1911's are 200-600 dollars depending on condition, i shot an old 1911 from WWII that was plum wore out until this last year when the slide got too loose. Now i use my Kimber more often.

Redleg

Yeah, here you have to get a purchase permit regardless of how you obtain it, unless you carry a ccw permit. You then take the permit in with the gun, they inspect do their "safety inspection", sign off on the permit which now becomes the registration. This counts for inheriting guns too, unless it is an antique black powder type.

cfar

I thought it was against the law for the govt. to keep any type of registrational data base on gun owners. Most of the time what people call registration is simply the DROS (dealer report of sale). So if the ATF/FBI whaterver find a gun used in a crime or simply lost they can trace the history of the firearm by tracking the owner down through the manufacturer/wholesaler/dealer - owner.