CZ 1911 A1 And Collector Value - Pull The Trigger Or Not?

[DougGuy]

In early 2015 CZ USA announced amid a good deal of fanfare that they were introducing their own 1911 A1 model into the market, citing some improvements in materials and workmanship over John Moses Browning's original design. Mainly a much nicer slide to frame fit and a better barrel fit. With the slide and frame made from high quality forgings and the match grade barrel made of stainless steel, CZ turned out an excellent run of pistols.

Suddenly, CZ stopped production of the 1911 A1 in January of 2016 with only 999 pistols built and sold to distributors citing the unavailability of replacement parts for the consumer.

CZ didn't start out with the intention of making this a limited run or a limited time only availability, and they ended production abruptly with little fanfare.

They could have stopped production so as not to compete with their own Dan Wesson line of custom 1911 pistols, who knows.

My question is will these guns appreciate in value in the future? At only 999 units produced, it is a very limited run and it has been hit or miss with limited runs even those by Colt and others is iffy and unpredictable. Some of the limited run Colts have seen rapid appreciation in value and desirability while other runs seemed to languish on dealer's shelves for years and years.

What to do what to do, decisions decisions..

[Mytmousemalibu]

They look very nice, I am seriously tempted! Well I was before I read the very news you posted Doug, now I really have a brain twister! No doubt it is an outstanding example of an A1 and last I checked, fairly good price for such a well made gun....

[reddog81]

I was seriously thinking about buying one but never did. I think it would be very hard to predict if they will ever become collectable…

CZ already produces the Dan Wesson 1911’s so my initial inclination is that the CZ’s will always be thought of as the cheaper alternative to the Dan Wesson’s. However the CZ seemed to be high quality guns that did a good job of maintaining the original look of the 1911a1 with only slight modifications done with the intent to enhance the user experience.

Today there are so many custom and factory 1911 manufacturers I think the market is kind of over-saturated with quality manufacturers and trying to predict which ones will become collectible would be hard. The good thing about the CZ is that it was a good gun at a reasonable price. If looking for WW2 replica 1911 I don’t think you could go wrong selecting the CZ but In 10 years from now it won’t be worth much more than any other comparable 1911.

[rintinglen]

I have never met nor seen a CZ collector. Desirability rather than pure rarity are what makes for increased value. There are darned few Rojak pistols floating around, does anyone think they command a premium? Unless they are dirt cheap, I'd not consider them anything more than a shooter.

[runfiverun]

I gave up on collecting anything for collecting sake.
if I can't shoot it why bother.
you'll be long since dead before the appreciation value kicks in enough to pay off.
I look at guns for what they are, are they built well enough for me to shoot out the barrel and get a new one put on?
can my kids shoot that barrel out and replace it too
YES?
then it's gonna get bought.
if it rattles and has 200 plastic pieces holding everything together then it probably ain't gonna be brought home I don't care if the price is 20 bucks or 2,000 bucks.

[tejano]

For most of my shooting life I have shot every pistol I have owned. There have been hundreds. In fact, I have sold some that were too pretty to risk scratching up when shooting or cleaning, including a USFA 1911 38 Super. The only exception so far has been a Colt Aztec 1911 38 Super. Every time I look at this Mexican Narco special I wonder why I still have it. If I kicked the bucket suddenly, the odds are high that my wife would not get fair value for it when she sold it. If the CZ you own had showed at my LGS, I would have bought it and shot it. 166149

P.S. I have law abiding relatives in Mexico that would love to have the Aztec but there is no legal way to get it to them.

[Bigslug]

While I like CZ's products, that 1911 reminds me a lot of the Springfield Mil Spec or the earlier Remington offerings - in short, they couldn't decide if they wanted to make a military replica or a modern bells & whistles gun, so they half-assed it and tossed out a pistol that was neither.

I'm sure they did a good job of it, but I'm not seeing anything "collectible" there. To those looking for a historical piece that they can use for re-enacting or just shooting to get the WWII vibe without putting wear on an actual WWII gun, it SHOULD have tiny sights, plastic grips and a lanyard ring. To those looking for a serious "modern technique" carry piece, it SHOULD have a slightly oversize safety, ring hammer, and high-rise grip safety with a bump on it. IOW, to both groups, the gun is a FAIL.

[snowwolfe]

I have never met nor seen a CZ collector. Desirability rather than pure rarity are what makes for increased value. There are darned few Rojak pistols floating around, does anyone think they command a premium? Unless they are dirt cheap, I'd not consider them anything more than a shooter.

What he said.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

There's much wisdom in what's been said already. But I've lived too long to ever rule anything out completely. There's always the guy that just has to have one of everything, whether that one is a Corvette, a painting, postage stamp, or 1911. I used to have a couple dozen of them, but like the others here, came to the realization that the best guns are shooters, as that's what they're meant to do. The collection mystique of 1911s has mainly been found in their relationship to US military history. A pistol stamped "US Navy", "Singer", "US&S", etc. But there are those that collect 1911s made for commercial sale that are a bit unusual like the Randall left hand model, AMT Long Slide, etc., and I'm sure that someone will want to add a CZ 1911 to their collection. But those folks don't collect "shooters" and like their guns in pristine just-left-the-factory-condition. So it boils down to (1) do you view the purchase as an investment, to be resold at a later time, or (2) as a shooter. You're the only one in position to know if you can tie that much money up for 15 or 20 years until a one-of-each collector becomes interested. As for a shooter, there are lots of 1911s around, and many as good as the CZ.

[Joni Lynn]

While limited production, even if it were to increase in value it's a poor investment in that regard. I would keep it unaltered or if altered, done so in such a way that it can be returned to stock with no marking up of the gun.
I'd shoot it, take care of it and properly maintain it. Above all don't let anyone put an idiot scratch on it.