colt 100 anniversary Tier III "stunt"?

[Zathras]

I picked up a colt 100 anniversary Tier III 45 ACP in August, and was glad to get it, as I was led to believe it was a "limited edition, limited to orders placed before November 2011", according to Colt's website back then. Now I am seeing em all over the place in Guns shops in my area brand new, and just manufactured...I was wondering if I missed something??. They are not advertised on their site anymore, yet they are popping up all of a sudden...Nice to see em, but I am wondering if Colt was just pulling an advertising stunt about it being a "limited edition" and after a bit, started pumping em out again which to me is not all that ethical business wise...

Z

 

[James K]

I has been known that folks buy a "limited edition", find out that it is not worth any more than any other gun of the same type, and unload it for what they can get. One way to find the answer to your question would be to write to Colt and ask them how many were made and when they were placed on the market.

They might not answer or the answer might not be what you want, but I know of no other way to get valid information.

Jim

 

[WVsig]

They are limited to the number that Colt wants to produce. LOL Which is often the case with these types of instant collectibles.

 

[KyJim]

I was led to believe it was a "limited edition, limited to orders placed before November 2011", according to Colt's website back then.

That's what I thought as well. But, maybe they had a large back order.

I bought one in 2011. It was a bit more than a standard Series 70 but reasonable. I bought mine as an occasional range gun and liked having something close to the original. With a couple of exceptions, I don't buy firearms as investments.

So, how do you like it? Tell me you've shot it.

 

[BarryLee]

If Colt advertised it as being limited to orders placed by November 2011 I assume that would mean distributors and LGSs. So, I suppose it’s possible that they are still building new guns to fill those orders.

 

[Zathras]

if they are filling back orders from 2011..lol..wow...that's MORE than "behind"...I checked my serial number..was made in June of 2012..so much for the limited editions only made until November 2011..lol..Of course I still LOVE the gun and it shoots great.

 

[Joe_Pike]

The way that I understand it is that they took orders for roughly 7,200 guns and have been filling those orders over time. It does seem odd that it is now 2015 and they are showing up more and more.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

The way that I understand it is that they took orders for roughly 7,200 guns and have been filling those orders over time. It does seem odd that it is now 2015 and they are showing up more and more.

Every FFL I have spoken with recently has said that sales are WAY down. Basically, the panic has ended -- everyone who suddenly realized they needed a gun when Obama was elected to his second term has no bought at least enough guns to feel safe. Dealers who "invested" in the Colt Anniversary 1911s back in 1911 may have been holding them in hopes that the prices would go up, and now they're dumping them before the prices drop through the floor.

 

[Snyper]

limited editions only made until November 2011.

That's not what they said, and is radically different than "ordered by" Nov 2011

If they got orders for 100,000 the last day of Nov, do you really think they wouldn't fill those orders?

 

[Aguila Blanca]

I think Colt would be VERY careful about how they advertised and sold the Anniversary Edition pistols. They were severely chastised by their customer base over the original WW1 reproduction (the Model O1911). Colt's WW2 reproduction wasn't terribly authentic, so although they advertised it as a limited production run of 4,000 pistols, they only sold about 2,700. I guess they expected similar results with the WW1, which was also announced as a limited production run of 4,000 pistols. However, the WW1 was a much netter reproduction, and the 4,000 sold out very quickly.

At that point Colt said they were going to keep on making them, to which a large number of customers said, "Oh no you don't. You sold me a limited production gun and now you want to raise the limit? I don't think so." Colt listened. They made some tweaks to the finish, started with a new serial number sequence, and gave it a new model designation: Model O1918. The O1918, IIRC, was NOT advertised as a limited production item.

I doubt very much that Colt would put themselves in the same bind a second time, so soon after the first customer uprising.

 

[Zathras]

Well..the WWI repros I saw in the various gun shops I went to, is identical to the one I bought, rollmarks serial number progression, finish and all...One shop had one for raffle that was donated by a customer. The owner of the shop said none of his distributors had any "at this time" but the dist ributer did say he was expecting more to come in, yet another bigger shop said they were well stocked with em, and these are serial nunbers starting with 01911..

 

[WVsig]

Are we talking ng WWI repros or the 100 year anniversary guns?

 

[Zathras]

I just spoke with Colt's customer service...To me, the rep was evasive..He said he believed the 01911 series WW1 was produced until 2013, and did not give a reason for them being pumped out until then..He also said he was not privy to any decisions made by upper management, but it was possible that it was decided to make more. He suggested I talk to the archival dept. He did say they are no longer in production to his knowledge..Not much to get out of that, other than anythings possible... so the answer aside of none ( to his knowledge) were being made at this point in time, but other than that, was no answer..

 

[Zathras]

I'm talking colt 100 anniversary Tier III 45s starting with serial number 01911..I haven't seen any 01918 guns so far in any of the shops. I am aware there is a difference.

 

[WVsig]

Ok but you stated this:

Well..the WWI repros I saw in the various gun shops I went to, is identical to the one I bought, rollmarks serial number progression, finish and all...One shop had one for raffle that was donated by a customer. The owner of the shop said none of his distributors had any "at this time" but the dist ributer did say he was expecting more to come in, yet another bigger shop said they were well stocked with em, and these are serial nunbers starting with 01911..

The original Colt 01911 WWI reproduction in Carbonia Blue had serial numbers ending WMK like this one. 4,413 were made ending in 2007 IIRC. Serial numbers started at 1000. WMK1001-WMK5414

Their serial numbers did not start with 01911. The later edition of the gun which was finished in "black oxide" referred to as the black army" guns and had serial numbers that also did not start with 01911 but started at 1001WWI.

The WWI Black Army started in 2007 and they ran another 4000 of those with no end date of production ever published. 1001WWI-5001WWI

IIRC there was a bit of a stink over the overrun of the original WMK pistols which prompted the change to the Black Army finish. I personally do not think that a run of 4000 instant collectibles makes a gun rare. YMMV. I had a Carbonia blue with a offcenter recoil spring hole cut which was replaced with one of the later WMK guns. Had to wait 6 months for production to come back around to them. I then traded it for collector grade CMP certified M1 Garand. Sort of wish I kept the Colt but it almost never got shot and I don't like pistols that are safe queens.

Back on topic. I believe they never set a limit on the number of guns they were going to produce. They took orders until Nov of 2011 but have been producing them ever since. My understanding is that Colt manufactures guns in batches or runs in a rotational manner so it is possible they are still making them. The number I remember hearing on these pistols was 7,000 to 8,000. From a collectible standpoint, take my statements with a with grain of salt, I am shooter who collects not a collector who shoots, a gun made in 2011 will be more valuable than ones made in 2011-2015.

The rep you talked to at Colt is off by a bit. IMHO. They were still in production in late 2013 early 2014.

 

[Zathras]

I just received a callback from Paul, at Colts Archival Department. Orders on the 01911 were indeed taken until November 2011, and no more after that. He says they are Still filling back orders on that model from distributors, as it was a very popular product when touted. There was no set production run for that model, only an order cutoff date. So that basically answers my question. I am still surprised that they are so far behind, but oh well, but that's the official word..

 

[WVsig]

So it sounds like you jumped the gun accusing them of some sort of deception.

Seems like it would have made more sense to simply ask Colt vs accusing them of something unethical. YMMV

 

[Elerius]

I guess that explains why I started seeing the 01911 up for a sale a lot more often? I've wanted one if those badly, and I don't like the black oxide and rollmarks of the 01918 and the Tier 3. Which is too bad, since they're more readily available. The only two I have seen on Gunbroker think they can get near $3,000 for them, even though the last two auctions for a real 01911 sold for about $1400.

A couple years ago I was seeing one come up maybe every 6 months or so. Now there's at least one each time I look.

 

[laytonj1]

I guess that explains why I started seeing the 01911 up for a sale a lot more often? I've wanted one if those badly, and I don't like the black oxide and rollmarks of the 01918 and the Tier 3. Which is too bad, since they're more readily available.

There are two versions of the 01911. The one still in production because of orders dating back to 2011 is the 01911ANVIII (Tier III).

Jim

 

[Elerius]

Yes, I mean the original 01911. The tier 3 has the anniversary rollmarks, which I don't want. I've been seeing more of the supposed first run 01911's much more often this last year