At one of my favorite LGS, I came upon this very clean, nickel Springfield:
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I have no idea of its value. I'd sure appreciate your guidance.

Mike

Never even knew they made a 38 super.

My screen is about the size of your thumbnail. And can't manipulate photos.

Please, does it say on the pistol 38 super?

Or is it possible it was modified to 38 super?

Don't think i've ever seen a plated SA before?

Not an expert. Just a radneck that loves shooting 38 supers for half a century.

Thanks for sharing.

 

Never even knew they made a 38 super.

Early 2000s for nickel-plated Mil-Spec Super, about the same time Springfield traded their "square" front strap and dust cover for M1911 contours.

 

depends on what the buyer believes what it is worth between 500 to 800 should be fair pricing

 

It is more of a looker than a shooter.

 

I bought one just like it 3-4 years ago for 7 with no accessories. And as we all know everything has gone up price-wise since then. I'd say now 8 to 900 with the way high quality 1911s are. The one I bought even had uglier grips than that one does. They looked like somebody cut up a 1970s countertop and made them into grips.

 

I've never seen one like that. If it's factory original and up your alley, you might be surprised what it's worth if you had to compete for it at auction

 

except for the grips that's pretty cool. i'd try for $400, but if i wanted it could see paying twice that. just how much you want it.

 

What???!!! Grips????

 

I would say it's worth near $1,000 to a crazy person with money. If you want it and can get it for any less than that, I'd snag it.

 

Kinda cool. Plating has little dots all over it, especially around the grips. Could be dirt or oil, also could be the plating is compromised. If compromised, I'd pass unless very cheap.

 

What is the tag price?

 

Who but you would raise such an obvious question?

 

Thank you, gentlemen. The piece had dust on and they wanted to clean it up prior to me taking iPhone photos. It's a very clean piece in .38 Super. The LGS priced it at $1000 but I'm not sure I really want to buy it.

Mike

 

If you do want it, I would lay 8 crisp $100 bills on the counter and see if they'd turn it down. Depending on how much you want it, you might keep some extra in your pocket to throw at them if you have to

 

When I was 12 I fired a 1911 for the first time. It was a Colt, in nickel, .45, with ugly rubber Pachmayr grips. -------- I was smitten! 💖

Since then I've always wanted a chrome or nickel 1911 and have been saving the attractive, checkered rubber grips form my Sistema for when the right gun comes along. And if it was in .38 Super I'd be EXTRA into it!

Dude, I'm rooting for you.

 

Back in the early 70's I bought a .38 Super in brushed nickel. I ended up trading it for a Belgium HP for the extra capacity and really didn't like the fireball every time I shot he Colt .38 Super.

 

Factory nickel? If so about $600. Otherwise $500.

 

That might neglect supply and demand economics. I have no interest in that pistol, but someone that does might have a hard time finding one anywhere else.

Just browsing around, it looks like this one sold for $960:

*Springfield Armory Model 1911-A1 .38 Super Pistol in Factory Box Lot 1503

*Springfield Armory Model 1911-A1 .38 Super Pistol in Factory Box .38 Super. 5" barrel. SN: N473687. Bright nickel finish, smooth mother of pearl grips. Single action Browning designed tilting barrel semi-automatic pistol with fixed two-dot rear sight, dovetailed front sight blade, arched...

hindmanauctions.com

 

Who but you would raise such an obvious question?

Well, you have to know where to start negotiating from.

it looks like this one sold for $960:

Not far off the asking price, was it?

 

Not far off the asking price, was it?

I have a fairly keen eye for these things. Some folks are horse traders or car traders. I'm none of those.

 

If you know somebody who is a pimp and you are looking for a birthday present for them that might be a really good choice.

 

Meh, the only thing that makes it look like a pimp gun are the grips, which are easily changed. I suspect these pistols will be sought after and worth so much more when they're discontinued (if they haven't been already).

 

I'm a car trader. I have had 189 classic, muscle, & race cars so far.

If there's a vehicle I want, I won't let a small price difference keep me from getting what I desire. Because if I want it, it's likely someone else will too ---on the resale.

And, despite "overpaying" for PLENTY of cars, I've only lost money twice -------on one I lost $50, and on another I lost $200 ------- Compare that to profiting by many thousands on most.

I say that if you want it you should buy it. Because if the price you pay is anywhere near a fair deal for the gun then someone else will pay that, or more, if you resell it.

Or............. worse case............ you HATE the gun, & sell it in a HURRY, for some reason, losing the $$ of a tank of gas. Big deal, I say that's well worth the likely possibility of loving it forever.

 

Not my cup of tea . Its worth what they are asking . You get the Crown Royal bag , the Blue
case , 2 magazines and all the trimmings , paperwork , brush , lock , etc . If you like 38 super
Nice find . You can call Springfield with the Serial number and they will give you date of birth

 

It could only get better if it said Colt instead of Springfield—but it would then be 3X the price!

 

I'd price it at a firm $900. Expect to get $750 cash. Try to find a nice pimp gun in .38 Super, you won't.

 

GB is loaded with them. In fact, if you do a search for 1911/.38 Super, you'll see more shiny, engraved, bling-bling guns than you could imagine. They're very popular in Mexico since the .45 is illegal to own and Mexicans love their shiny, fancy 1911's.

 

Go in with a fedora with a feather in it and offer $900.00. Then they will know your serious.

But I like nickel guns.

 

Go in with a fedora with a feather in it and offer $900.00. Then they will know your serious.

But I like nickel guns.

Yes, you need to go in looking real fancy when you're trying to convince people that you can't afford what they're selling.

 

I'm no expert just a guy who loves 1911's, always have. I believe that is in fact an all factory Springfield Armory 1911. They did in fact offer those in their line up. As to its value I'd say anywhere between $500-$$800 would be fair. But really it's how bad you want it that will determine it's "value." But it's a great gun and I'd feel fine paying $800 for it sight unseen. I don't believe those were that commonly seen even when they were in production, I only 2 of those back then with one being a special order for a regular customer and the other one just came in as inventory.

It was years ago I want to say late 1990's-mid 2000's. It was either after or while imbel made their raw forgings. Awesome looking 1911 and I'd buy that in a heartbeat if I had any disposable income right now FWIW.

Please keep in mind that I could be mistaken on my facts as I'm going purely off of my memory. So i seef I have anything wrong about this please other members correct me on this. Hope this helps you out some.

 

One day I was talking to a friend about .38 Super. The next day I was at the gun counter of a big box sporting goods store. I looked at and bought a Rock Island Government model 1911 in Nickel.

A word of caution. I had a Springfield Armory, Inc. hi-cap .45 amp 1911. It was a great shooting pistol. One day I decided to give it a deep cleaning so I removed the grips. There in all upper case font was this: Made in Brazil! Springfield used to sell a hi-cap Commander sized pistol with a polymer frame. It was made by Bul in Israel. I have the same pistol, made for and marked Charles Daly.

 

If I ran across that SA nickel job, I'd pay 800 all day long for it. 900 tops.

Throw out 8 100's and see. Keep an extra in the pocket.

 

Yeah, that's kind of a rare gun. Just go and try to pay someone to disassemble, polish and plate a 1911 pistol of just about any make for less than $1000. I wouldn't do it, that's for sure.

 

I find myself agreeing with MagazineMan and theraptur.

Per me?

You'll never find a Brinks Truck behind the Hearse.

If you want it, I'd ask them what they'll take "Cash". Not Credit Card, but Cash.

I'd take as many $100 Bills as I thought it was worth, and either they'll come to an agreement with you, or not.

If you don't have $900, then offer them what you can afford, and hope they'll sell it at that price.

Like theraptur, if I had $900 in my gun fund, I'd offer $800, with the idea of going as high as $900.
But they don't need to know that.

If after asking what they'll take in "Cash", whatever price they quote you, either pay it or not.

There's no shame in saying "well, that's more than I can afford."

That being said, I found a Colt .32-20 a while back, and wanted it because while a 4", it was like the one my Dad had while I was growing up.
I was prepared to pay a bit more than what the guy asked, but when he said "$250", I shook his hand and said "Deal".

Now I've got two, because Dad passed a couple of years ago.

 

Nice. A 32-20 Colt for $250? I am sure there is something wrong with that gun so you need to send it to me for testing. As for the nickel 38 Super I am sure it is worth around $900 but not my cup of tea. If it is clean and new from SA it will be very good shooter. I just don't care for the bling look and pearly handles. Not me but I know they are popular with some.

Each to his own.

 

Nice. A 32-20 Colt for $250? I am sure there is something wrong with that gun so you need to send it to me for testing. As for the nickel 38 Super I am sure it is worth around $900 but not my cup of tea. If it is clean and new from SA it will be very good shooter. I just don't care for the bling look and pearly handles. Not me but I know they are popular with some.

Each to his own.

Well, it's got wear and some dings, but it came with both the original grips and a set of Pachmayers, and it shoots pretty good.

So I figure I got my $250 worth. ;-)

The 6" barrel is the one Dad bought "Surplus" for $25.00 at McConnell AFB when they were phased out from the Air Police.
It still wears the Walnut Grips it came with.
It has a lot of years of being carried in a holster, so there's wear marks on it.
The leather holster for it has MP stamped on the back, and was originally brown.
I stained it Black for Dad when he was volunteering as a Reserve Police Officer and Sheriffs Deputy here in Kansas after he retired.
He carried it as a "Duty Pistol" for a number of years, and qualified with it annually.
This is the pistol that my Mom used to protect us during the Tet Offensive when we were at Clark AFB, PI.
Due to Tet, there was an "Alert" and All Personnel were required to be on base and on duty.
We were living in Off-Base Housing, and a Filipino decided it'd be a good time to break in and take what he wanted.
I watched my Mom tell him he'd better "Ziggy Now", to which he replied he'd do what he wanted.
Mom eared the hammer back on that Colt as she pointed it at him and told him again to "Ziggy Now".
He Ziggy Now'd right on out of there.

My Mom was a tough old broad.

The 4" barrel is the one I got for $250. The Pachmayer Grips are the same as for a Python.
The original Colt "Plastic" grips are an interesting difference between the two pistols.
It has some interesting wear on it, and someone raised the front site by fitting a brass piece to the top of the site.
At 25 yards, it shoots to point of aim, so whoever did it, did a good job.

Apologies for the side-track, but if the OP wants the pistol, he should buy it.

In my case, for a while, Dad and I had two similar pistols.

Sadly, I now have them both.

But periodically, I take them to the range, think of Dad, and have some fun with them, especially the 6" as it's the first pistol I ever got to fire.

 

Yer killin' me Rusty. Don't feed my ego by liking everything I say

 

My only access to the internet is this old cheap phone. A 3g phone trying to operate in a 4g network. Browser is ancient - can't be upgraded and not supported on many sites. Can ONLY LIKE in responses, so i seem to have spectrum disorders (more than me just being a guy).

Every time i come close to buying a new phone...
Oh look! A nice shiny gun!