What is the value of a Ejercito Argentino Colt cal 45 Mod 1927 automatic pistol?

Answer 1

There were only 10,000 of these pistols made by Colt for the Argentine Army (Ejercito Argentino) under contract in 1927. The pistol is basically a '1911A1' (post 1924) configuration and featured a World War I style (Pre-A1 version) wide spur hammer withcheckering, short checkered trigger and a checkered (arched) mainspring housing with lanyard loop. All of these Colts had a deep blue finish. Production is said to have begun in July, 1927 and ended in February, 1928. After the initial 10,000 units were produced, the Argentine government purchased a license to build the 'Model 1927' pistol in Argentina under the markings 'FMAP' which stood for 'Fabrica Militar de Armas Portatiles' (Argentine Military Small Arms Factory) and these guns began with serial #10,001 through 13,000 respectively. These guns are of questionable quality, fit and finish. Most of these FMAP pistol exhibit horrific wear due to poor quality steel and heat treating. The Colt produced Argentine pistols, however, are said to be of the highest quality construction and fit/finish as Colt considered them 'ambassadors' to the foreign market. Most of the ones I have seen (I own two 1927 Argentine Colts; serial numbers 9716 and 9721 respectively) exhibit excellent workmanship. The serial numbers appear on the top of the slide, in front of the rear sight, under the sear spring on the frame and on the barrel. The chambers were not marked on these 10,000 pistols, but the 'RA' rollmarks are found on most all of the other parts, which stands for Republica Argentina. As far as value is concerned, I have seen them as low as $400.00 to as high as $1,500.00 depending on condition, serialization (the lower the more valuable) and how bad the collector wants one. I hope this information is helpful.