Colt jr. scarce?

[therevjay]

How scarce are they, the US made jr.'s not Astra cubs. I bid the max I was willing to pay for one on AA, which I actualy thought was too much. Anyway after I lost, I got to thinking about how you see alot of Hammerless .25's but hardly ever a jr. on the auction sites. How scarce are they really?

[tmd17]

The Made in the USA "Juniors" are not Juniors, but are actually named Colt Automatic .25. The were made for about three years in the US by FI. With only three years in production you would think not many were made, but the serial number ranges indicates quite a few are out there.

I know I have my fair share!



As for value- it all depends on condition. I would say from $100 for a beat up shooter to $500 LNIB.



Serial Number Data

http://coltautos.com/Junior_pd.htm

[doc540]

Hoarder!

[Lawman67]

Ditto , The Astra made guns are marked Colt Junior, the Colt 25 ,was made in the US. Despite the short production run ,well over 100,000 were made. Back in the day , Colt could crank them out. Nice little guns going up in value.

[JudgeColt]

Every time this comes up, I think it is helpful to review the production history because there is often confusion between the Colt Junior and the Colt Automatic .25.

The Junior was made in Spain by Astra for Colt beginning in 1958, and was discontinued in 1968 due to the 1968 Gun Control Act that forbade importation of "non-sporting" firearms. The Junior serial numbers have a "CC" prefix, and the guns are marked "Junior" on the slide and "Made in Spain for Colt's" on the frame. Junior .25 serial numbers began at 1CC and ended at 85082CC. The Junior was made in both .25ACP and .22 Short chamberings. Colt even offered a Conversion Unit to convert a .25ACP Junior pistol to .22 Short.

Back in the day , Colt could crank them out.

Not exactly. Colt did not make them. Because the 1968 Gun Control Act outlawed the importation of the Junior as "non-sporting," Colt contracted with Firearms International of Florida in 1970 to make the clone of the Junior. The Colt Automatic .25 was introduced in 1971 and was discontinued in 1973, perhaps coinciding with the demise of Firearms International. The Automatic serial numbers have an "OD" prefix and the slides are stamped "Automatic .25." The Automatic .25 serial numbers began at OD10001 and ended at OD120471.

[Lawman67]

My understanding was FIE supplied the frames ,but the pistols were finished by Colt. I don't think it was the demise of FIE that stopped production, more likely Colt felt the 25 was being demonized by lawmakers . FIE continued to offer pistols called The, Best model 25 after the Colt pistols were discontinued.

[JudgeColt]

REALLY not exactly. You are confusing Firearms Import & Export (F.I.E.), which made "The Best" pistol, but never the Colt "Automatic .25," with Firearms International (F.I.), which made the entire "Colt Automatic .25."

[Armyphotog]

Get 'um, Judge.

[Lawman67]

Where did you find that out? I have heard several different stories about the Colt 25. One was that Colt had the frames made here , and got the slides from Astra , and finished the guns at Colt.

[therevjay]

Thanks all for the education, it seems there is/was a great deal I thought I knew but didn't. I also now wish I hadn't been such a cheapskate and bid a bit more.