45 ACP Colt Model 1911 WWII issue
This pistol was carried across the Pacific by a local resident and donated to the local Historical Museum. It was stolen and pawned by a local scumbag who was caught. The issue is, how much is the pistol worth? Less than $500 it's a misdemeanor. Pawn shop owner says it's worth around $3000. Any suggestions welcomed.
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Need DOM, pics, SN# all kinds of info to be able to answer your question. 0 -
MORE THEN $500.00 but without pictures of the pistol NO way to tell if $3000.00 most are lucky to bring 1/2 that price. Look at closed actions that have actually sold on the auction side if they have no bids or not reached the reserve then they are over priced .use the smart search feature. 0 -
When I used to donate to museums, I always got a letter from them for tax reasons as per value. BEFORE you go and get or give quotes, see if one such quote was ever logged by the Historical Museum. It is common to have a donated item "assessed" at high number.
Artifacts, such as that gun derive their value from history...not how much bluing is left...0 -
You might want to check with the District Attorney before anyone gets prosecuted.
If the local resident carried it in the Pacific & donated it to the museum, that's prima facie evidence that the local resident stole it from the US Government. Can you steal a stolen gun?
Neal0 -
One would think the Museum would have a network of appraisers and experts who would examine the Historical aspects and can value that.
Which is different than the gun value itself.
But to quote XXCross
"Value" is always relative in nature. If authentic, this barrel is worth whatever someone is willing to give you for it. What is it worth to you?0 -
Neal, I think the feds have long since given up on pursuing pilfered service pistols. People used to worry about that a lot, witness the weekly "I have Grandpa's Army gun but it doesn't have a serial number anywhere." post.
As Perry Shooter says, any functional genuine USGI 1911 is worth more than $500.0 -
For those who are worried about "stolen" army issue weapons from WWII, most of the returning vets could bring back just about anything they wanted short of machine guns. When I returned from Vietnam, more than one GI had a barrel and receiver from an AK 47 taped to his leg, with the stock sent home with his hold baggage.... Matter of fact, I had a mint Colt 1911 I took off a dead NVA stuck in my undies that made it back too. The sniffer dogs at Oakland were only trained to smell dope, not Hoppes #9.... 
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