Original colt 1911

[revbc]

Just wondering if anyone had an idea of the value of my 1911.  The serial # is 352600, it has been nickel plated with gold accents.  The plating and gold are worn and peeled in places, however the pistol is sound mechanically.  It has a slight amount of slack in the slide.  The latest readable date on the slide says 1913, and the right side is stamped with "???EL OF1911 US ARMY"  Probably Model with the first part of the word worn off.

Thanks
Bobby

see pic

[Mikey]

revbc:  maybe not as much as we would like it to be worth.  It is old, certainly.  But, it appears to also have been nickeled and gilded outside the factory - I believe the factory would have made certain the lettering was clear enough to read. 

The slide should have some side to side play.  I can't tell you anything about the serial number although I probably would have expected a 1913 made pistol to have a few less digits or a few of the zeros up front but, there has to be a Colt collectors society somewhere with someone who could give you some decent information about this pistol.  You can always try and contact Colt.  HTH.  Mikey.