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Replies: 22
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Oculus Spirit [91450]
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Al Capones 1911 Sweetheart Colt.45 ACP Semi on auction
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May 7, 2024, 12:42 PM
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this coming Saturday thru Richmond Auctions.com with present bid @ $500,000.
Along with many titles, Al “ Scarface” Capone is known as “the most shot at man in American history”.
Gun was inherited by his Son Sonny who was a prolific shooter & gun competition enthusiast and had restored & altered the gun to his liking.
Upon Sonny’s his two Daughters inherited it and later sold it to a collector.
Hope these 3 pics come up~
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Oculus Spirit [91450]
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Oh, AL said this pistol had saved his life several times
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May 7, 2024, 10:00 PM
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thus “his “Sweetheart”!
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110%er [6127]
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Wow, now that is something you do not see everyday
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May 7, 2024, 12:46 PM
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exquisite Colt 45
If I had a half mil to a mil I might go for this.
A piece of history!!
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110%er [5137]
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Re: Al Capones 1911 Sweetheart Colt.45 ACP Semi on auction
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May 7, 2024, 12:49 PM
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Other than the engraving and horn grips, the front and rear sights have been changed to target sights. He sure messed up a Colt 1911.
I sold my all original Colt 1911 a few years ago and I sure miss it - just didn't need it anymore.
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Oculus Spirit [77565]
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Re: Al Capones 1911 Sweetheart Colt.45 ACP Semi on auction
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May 7, 2024, 1:01 PM
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He sure did...
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Orange Blooded [3161]
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Re: Al Capones 1911 Sweetheart Colt.45 ACP Semi on auction
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May 7, 2024, 1:44 PM
[ in reply to Re: Al Capones 1911 Sweetheart Colt.45 ACP Semi on auction ] |
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I think the trigger is not OEM or at least modified. Some years ago I came across one at the LGS. Basically a parts gun but the frame/serial number dates to 1918. The slide is stamped AA and was probably reassembled for WW 2. I don’t shoot it anymore and it will probably be the last gun I’d sell.
Nice to look at though.
Go Tigers and John Moses Browning
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110%er [5137]
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Re: Al Capones 1911 Sweetheart Colt.45 ACP Semi on auction
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May 7, 2024, 2:06 PM
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I think you're correct on the trigger replacement. The right side has 2 blind holes and I don't remember that on my 1911A1.
Mine was 1943 issue - parkerized - and had never been to an arsenal for rework. I researched every marking on each part and found that every part was original to that pistol. Like you, I loved to shoot it, but was happy just cleaning it and looking at it.
It was in a collection of about 15-20 pistols, rifles and shotguns that I sold when I moved to an apartment. I didn't get as much as the Capone pistol - anly about $3,000 for mine. The only firedarm I kept was my wife's .38 S&W J-frame Chief Special snub-nose 5-shot revolver. At my age (80) that's a much safer and easier pistol to use and enough for home defense.
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All-TigerNet [13057]
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Given that the significance of this pistol is largely the previous owner
May 7, 2024, 1:59 PM
[ in reply to Re: Al Capones 1911 Sweetheart Colt.45 ACP Semi on auction ] |
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and not the gun itself (though it obviously contributes some), I doubt it matters much to anyone interested in buying it.
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All-TigerNet [10820]
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Re: Al Capones 1911 Sweetheart Colt.45 ACP Semi on auction
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May 7, 2024, 1:02 PM
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I would still like to for it to have a little more provenance. A certificate of authenticity from a granddaughter is just proof that the granddaughter is saying that it is authentic.
Several months ago Pancho Villa's alledged Colt 45 Single Action Army was put up for auction by Rock Island Auctions, a very reputable auction house for guns. There were several pages of gobbly goop about Villa and the gun, but nothing ever really connected the gun to him, although it was engraved with his name ...... which anyone could have had done. Long story short, it did not sell, as no one was buying the story!
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All-TigerNet [13057]
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That was the first thing i noticed as well***
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May 7, 2024, 2:06 PM
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All-In [32743]
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110%er [5154]
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All-In [32743]
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Pawn Stars would give you $300 for it . . . .***
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May 7, 2024, 2:25 PM
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Orange Blooded [2364]
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Re: Al Capones 1911 Sweetheart Colt.45 ACP Semi on auction
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May 7, 2024, 3:44 PM
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I have one in mint condition, shot once. I'll take $500.00
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Oculus Spirit [91450]
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^ Who did you shoot (once) prescotttiger?
May 7, 2024, 3:54 PM
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spelled with 3 “T’s”!
LOL~
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CU Guru [1799]
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Re: Al Capones 1911 Sweetheart Colt.45 ACP Semi on auction
May 7, 2024, 4:58 PM
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I bought my last 1911 A1 through the CMP ( Civilian Marksmanship Program) and its provenance is impeccable ...... straight from an Army or Marine Corps warehouse or storage facility. Mine has a Remington Rand Frame and a Colt slide (or vice versa). The good part is they sell them for about half of retail!
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Varsity [232]
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Re: Al Capones 1911 Sweetheart Colt.45 ACP Semi on auction
May 7, 2024, 5:28 PM
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I was a gun show in Cootieville about 12 Years ago, This guy had a Model 1911 Colt that he said was his grandfathers from WW1. He had photos, Mil armory records showing this pistol; was issued to his Gramps back in 1916. Photo of gramps having "A" 1911 in a shoulder hostler etc. Also, his gramps had used some kinda' tool to etch his name on the right had slide "1LT Salter" Seller (old dude) said over the years while gramps was still alive they would shoot the pistol every Christmas Day.
Pistol was in better than average condition and was asking 2K with docs. I finally got him down to $1,550 cash (way more than some 1911s sell for. IMO I have 10 1911a. There is no known knowledge that LT Salter ever fired the gun in combat in France. He and his family are from SC. Seller needed the funds for something, I didn't ask what.
WT
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All-TigerNet [10820]
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Re: Al Capones 1911 Sweetheart Colt.45 ACP Semi on auction
May 7, 2024, 6:01 PM
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That was a good deal, especially since the owner was known. It was especially good for an early one and even better if the holster and web gear came with it. I passed up a pristine WW I Marine 1911 with all the web gear about that same time for $2000 ..... still kicking myself.
I've got a couple of 1911 Model 70 Gold Cup pistols ..... one new in the box, the other with less than 1000 rounds fired through it.
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110%er [5137]
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Re: Al Capones 1911 Sweetheart Colt.45 ACP Semi on auction
May 8, 2024, 7:26 AM
[ in reply to Re: Al Capones 1911 Sweetheart Colt.45 ACP Semi on auction ] |
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My father brought back 2 1911A1s from the Pacific.... one was a Remington and the other was a Colt.
Your 1911 may have been an arsenal rework with whatever parts were available, but there may be another very important reason.
From what he told me many years ago was that they found that many pistols had very tight manufacturing clearances between the slide and the frame that interfered with smooth operation in the Pacific when the pistols were exposed to sand (which was abundant). The solution was to exchange slides for a looser fit. IIRC, the most often used solution was to put a Remington slide on a Colt frame to gain needed clearance. Like you, I may have that backwards, but the modification may have been intentional.
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All-TigerNet [10820]
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Re: Al Capones 1911 Sweetheart Colt.45 ACP Semi on auction
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May 8, 2024, 7:04 PM
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Thanks for the info. All of these pistols have been through a military armory where they were stored and maintained, so it is probably more rare to find one with all of its original components than not. Even the ones with matching slides may not be the slide that came on it.
I can attest to sand being a problem as one evening after I had been on a patrol in Viet Nam and had to lay in the sand behind a sandy berm, after I got back to my compound, I could barely pull the slide back to clean it. Sand was everywhere in it and I seriously doubt that it would have fired had I needed to use it. But, I also carried an M79 Grenade Launcher, with flechette rounds, so that would have been my weapon of choice if I needed to fire at something.
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110%er [5137]
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All-TigerNet [10820]
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Re: Al Capone Sure had aLot of Pistols
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May 8, 2024, 7:10 PM
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Yep ..... to shell out that kind of money, I would have to see a photo of Capone with the subject gun and be able to blow it up clear enough to verify it was the same gun.
There are also stories of some famous outlaw, maybe Jesse James, whose mother would buy guns and then sell them as Jesse's gun ..... along with a letter of authenticity.
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