Does anyone collect Colt .32 autos?
 

Does anyone here collect Colt .32 autos? Seems like most Colt auto pistol interest is in the big .45.

Jim

Colt Pockets
 

Jim,

I have several Colt 1908's in .380. These are nice guns in either cailber!

Mike:D

Jim, I have a 1908 in .380 in poorer condition than I would like, though not bad in most people's eyes. I'm waiting for a better one to come along.

How do these old .32 and .380 pieces hold up as shooters? :confused:

Jim

These guns are real work horses. I have seen them in horrendous condition, but they never fail to function flawlessly.

I agree with Aaron. These pistols designed by John Browning are the best small auto pistols in the World and I don't believe their design has been improved by anyone since.
I shoot mine often and I cannot think of ever experiencing a jam in either caliber.
My Wife Ellie uses a Colt .380 as a personal carry weapon. Even though they were made in the first half of the Century the ones I have look and function like new. One of my favorite pistols of all time. Jerry Burney

Great info!
 

Thanks, Aaron and Jerry.

Sounds as though these old pieces would make for practical collectibles.:)

Jim

Prices?
 

BTW: what sort of price range are these little Colts commanding? :confused:

Jim

Typically, I've seen them in 98-99% original condition at around $900 or so. I'm not a collector of these (yet), but often run into a gentleman in Dallas that has a few originals he sells for this price. He will typically have the wood gripped ones or the bakelite guns. Really nice ones too. He'll have lesser grade ones for $650-$750.

I have a blue 32 with medallion wood and a nickel 380 with medallion pearl both in original boxes. Great shooting little guns.:cheers:

You guys are just pure EVIL

Now I have to go find a little Colt.
My wife will never understand.
Thanks a lot guys!

I two have a .32 & a .380 as new one in the box. + have a .32 shooter these are wonderful little guns. As Jerry said there function is flawless unbeatable little pistols.

Polyandry afoot?
 

Sounds as though we're all married to the same woman, Pipeman! :roflmao:

Jim

Just today received a new (to me) 1908 .380, Nickel with ivory grips. SN 821XX
Does anyone know if Colt ever used ivory grips that look like these? (Mount blocks are made of ivory also).

$1050... how'd I do?

Here's the other side...

David, How'd you do? When it comes to these Colt pocket Auto Pistols it's much like Lugers..All in the details. If the pistol is a genuine Nickle plate by Colt it is rare indeed. I don't believe these are original Colt grips( what the hell do I know ) but if they are genuine Ivory they have to be worth a bundle.
Colt made a million and a half .32 Cal. pistols but only a half million .380's. The .380 is much more desirable simply because there are fewer of them. I like them in either Caliber.
I think you did alright no matter what! Jerry Burney

Jerry,
They are real ivory, but not Colt made. Colt did make ivory grips without medallions up until 1909-10, I believe, but this pistol was made in 1926.
I don't know if the nickel is original, but it certainly looks like it and I do know that another .380 just 100 below this one was original nickel.
The ivory grips made by "who knows" are worth at least $200-300 by themselves. So I'm into the pistol about $800 without considering the grips. If it's a renickel I figure I'm screwed by about $400. If not, I think I got the brass ring on this deal. All the little dings and scratches you can't see in these pictures tell me this is probably the real deal. I just wish there was a way to tell for sure.

Ivory grips
 

Hi all,

For ivory's for 1903/08 Colts, try Mike Poulin at:

http://hometown.aol.com/mgpsrjr/myhomepage/index.html

Mike's uncle's were retired Colt supervisors, and he inherited all their stuff when they passed. I heard that he is making some of Colt's Custom Shop grips.

Mike:D

A real beautY!
 

I don't know about the going rate for prices, but I do know that is one beautiful little gun! :)

Jim

David
Will colt not offer a factory letter on this pistol,I bet they would just like they do on the SAAs. From what I can see it looks right but it can be hard to tell with nckel. Good Luck clint

That's what I was just about to say. Write to Colt and they'll fix you up.

Colt is now charging 300.00 for there letter.

Colt's factory letters are up to $100 per. I'd like to have the information, but $100 is such a blatant screw job that I refuse to bend over.

I guess its been awhile,I paid $30 for my last colt factory letter. :)

Signed by Samuel Colt himself? :D

One must analize the value of such a document David. If you were trying to establish a provinance on a rare and valuble colt worth $8000 bucks it might be prudent to pony up. On many Colt pistols, while it might be interesting, it would not pay off. I am happy that the Colt Historian offers this service, but I am like you..I would not pay it except in an extroidinary case. Jerry Burney

ROTFLMAO!! :roflmao:

:D

Outrageous!
 

I agree that it would be worth your while to spend $300 to establish the provenance on a piece worth thousands, but not even $100 if it's just for your own curiousity.

However, I think it shows an outrageous lack of customer service on Colt's part that they would charge anything for this service!

Jim

Jim, Earth calling Jim! Come home, we miss you! The economy of the World is constantly changing and if you haven't heard , everything of value is expensive. If Colt were to provide this service for free every idiot on the Planet would pester them incessantly asking about the most mundane pistols.
A charge filters out those who are serious from those who are curious. I would emagine that an official Colt letter would add at least the cost of the letter to the value of an expensive historic Colt. Not necessarily so to the often mundane pistol.
I think Colt has a perfect right..nay.. a responsibility to charge whatever the market will bear for this service if nothing else to support it's continued existance.
To maintain these historical records in storage and hire a researcher costs money. When did you last perform a public service for free? Jerry Burney

I have extensively shot and carried these little Colts for just about 20 years now, and they are, indeed, wonderful, accurate and incredibly reliable. The comment was made above:
"Colt made a million and a half .32 Cal. pistols but only a half million .380's. The .380 is much more desirable simply because there are fewer of them."

Actually, per John Brunner's research, Colt made about 570,000 of the .32's, and about 137,500 of the .380's. So, it's quite correct that there are many more .32's than .380's, and the .380s are more in demand both as shooters and for collector purposes, but there are not 2 million of them floating around. The .32's historically could be had for pretty reasonable prices, but in the past few years, even the value of the .32's seems to have really taken off.

They are little jewels, and if anyone here spots a decent one at a fair price, they're well worth looking into... Many have finish wear due to use/neglect but will still shoot beautifully. Those that still retain most of their original finish are gorgeous little pieces indeed.

John

Jerry, Jim answering Earth and Jerry! Jim's been here all along. And he knows that the economy of the world is...really always the same. Everything costs something. Someone must pay for everything.

My point is that a huge company like Colt can readily afford to hire a person - maybe, an historian, and a secretary - and provide this as a service to its customers.

Why should they do this? Out of the goodness of their heart? No. Out of enlightened self-interest.

You see, Jerry, providing salary, benefits, and office space to those couple of people might set Colt back, oh, maybe to the tune of about .0000001 of their annual expenditures. In return for giving away their services, they would make customers happy. And happy customers buy the company's product. And that's called profit.

However, today our companies are run by accountants, and people with MBA's in marketing who couldn't sell iced tea to Bedouins at the oasis bazaar.

And that's why these companies go out of business.

When did I last perform a public service for free? Well, I work for the federal government, so I don't know how to answer that question. No one is really interested in the advice and representation I provide to US Naval commands, outside of the commands themselves.

But if I were the honcho at Colt Firearms, you can be sure we'd be "giving away" this precious information about our own products. Oh yes!

Because, you see, I'd want YOU to have a reason why you should buy a new COLT, instead of a new Smith and Wesson, or Ruger, or whatever.

And if a stupid letter that cost my company $20 in research time and a 37 cent stamp helped do that: yeah, you can bet we'd be cranking out those letters for " free"!

"Thank you for your interest in our fine old pistol, Sir; Colt's always glad to be of service!"

(Company brochures included at no extra cost)

;)

Jim

Jim, I am not absolutely positive but as I recollect Colt no longer has an interest or control of this historical archive. I believe it is in the hands of the Winchester museum in Cody WY. Could very well be in control of the CT historical foundation. I don't know but I am fairly certain Colt Firearms has nothing to do with it any longer.
Colt has never been very savvy in business dealings since the end of WW2. Look how they gave up the Cowby action shooting market to the Italians. Biggest bonehead mistake I've seen lately in the gun World.
Colt has been trying to go out of business for years now....Jerry Burney

Amen!