What are these old Colt twenty round magazines worth?

[Fanner50]

First, I'm not trying to sell them, I'm just wanting to know if they have any value if I do decide to sell them. They are very much pre, pre ban. There is no finish left on them as you can tell in the pictures. What do you guys think , any collector value, or just used magazine value? I have seven of them.

Thanks all.

 

[Rebel_Rider1969]

Don't know. I use em still. I have some been kind of collecting them always looking for different mfg.

 

[Welldoya]

A lot I hope cuz I’ve got a bunch of them.
Forgot I had them till I saw this thread.

 

[FLT]

I’ve got some I’d sell for $20 each, but I have on idea of what they are actually worth.

 

[Rebel_Rider1969]

I remember the old gunshow days of bins of em, and free 1 with a cup of coffee! I just think they're cool. Also the lightest 20rd you can get.

 

[Fanner50]

I’ve got some I’d sell for $20 each, but I have on idea of what they are actually worth.

Now,.....and this may be Fireball talking...but...I don't want to get into a bidding war with you, but I will sell mine for $21 each. Mine have provenance .....they were owned by Fanner50.

 

[FrommerStop]

Now,.....and this may be Fireball talking...but...I don't want to get into a bidding war with you, but I will sell mine for $21 each. Mine have provenance .....they were owned by Fanner50.

You need to be checking people that are into AR retro things. I know there is a lot of interest in such and in fact I was discussing that with some one the other day. What was a 5 dollar part is now worth 50 plus dollars.
Maybe go to AR15com or what ever it is called for information. Most of us are like Rebel_R and if it works we shoot it.

 

[SAWMAN]

I have a bunch of these mags also. These go with my retro guns ONLY. (MagPuls in the rest)
Mine are pretty weathered also which is what the retro builders/collectors want. The ones with aluminum followers are earlier than the black plastic. The green plastic is not origional.
If anyone wants to sell some or trade some,please PM me. I am looking for several different markings. ---- SAWMAN
ADDED: If the mags are the OK brand they are period correct also. To some people the more westhered the better. I want mine about medium as this is what I remember.

 

[Welldoya]

I just did a quick search on GB and it looks like most people are asking $20-$30 each for them.
I had a bunch of aluminum mags that I had gotten with several used guns I bought over the years. I kept the Colts and a couple of other brands that were in excellent condition and sold the rest for $25 each to a guy.
This was at least 20 years ago.

 

[Murfpcola]

When I was reading up on them it appeared that the ones that say .223 are older than the ones that say 5.56. May or may not be true.

 

[Fanner50]

I was looking at the pictures that I posted above, and four say .223 and three say 5.56. All have metal followers. Lots of good information here on these old magazines. Thanks.

 

[SAWMAN]

The older Colt AR-15's that were available to the public back in 1972'ish were the 223 marked mags. I bought two of them in about that time frame.
I do remember some 223 marked mags in SE Asia also. Of course the 223Rem was around long before the 5.56X45 was.
I do not think that Colt Industries had a plant that made mags. Most likely they were made at quite a few different facilities and the markings were added as per Colt. I believe that just the Colt mags had 4 different design markings. --- SAWMAN
ADDED: Two of my mags have "M16" on the floor plate.

 

[SAWMAN]

TackelberryMCS, tell us how many mags you have for your AR's.
GUESSING - - -> If you had three mags for each weapon,you would have 514. Am I close ?? ---- SAWMAN

 

[Rebel_Rider1969]

As I understand it these contracts were awarded later to "small companys" and used colt tooling. Then they sold so many mags they lost their " small company " status and another company was picked. The only ones that suck are ?? Some company - lopez? Or something. Never seen any. The tooling was worn out by then and the 30rd mags were wanted more. I may be mistaken on some of this. Ymmv

 

[polebarn]

FWIW:

Fulton Armory FAQ: The Lowdown on AR-15/M16 Magazines

www.fulton-armory.com

 

[TackleberryMCS]

For the most part, older used 20-round Colt magazines, whether marked .223 or 5.56, are going for around $20-$30 depending on condition. Old (early Vietnam era 1967-1972 or so) NIW Colt 20-round magazines can sell upwards to $40-$50 each. These are highly collectible as they are still wrapped and never used. Of course, what one will pay for older Colt 20-round magazines is going to vary. I have never paid over $15 for one.

 

[Plinker]

Got me a bunch of Colt .223 magazines too.

Bought a Waffle Magazine from Brownells a few years ago just to dress up the SP-1 a wee bit:

Lordy!!!!!
I KNOW I didn’t spend THIS much on one though:

 

[wildrider666]

The pre 64' with the older long lived Legacy name would have greater value between the two types shown. A bit off collector gade but nostalgia or for a Retro build: functinal cool! Value is very subjective but to me the COLT'S PT. F.A. mags are $25+- the others $17ish.

Up front, I don't agree with the Fulton Link on years and Marking. Heres why:
The Colt PT. F. A. MFG .CO. INC were 1964 or earlier production but would contine to be sold as long as "Old Company Name" marked parts were available. Though intended for seperat markets (.223 for commercial side and 5.56 for Mil contracts), the demands in SE ASIA took priority over Spec markings. Colt PT. F. A. markings with 5.56 blow that away plus 5.56 was adopted in 1963, Fulton doesn't bring in the 5.56 marking until 1969 which is 5 years and a hell of a lot of War demand AFTER the Colt name change. Around 1980 Colt main lined the 5.56 and .223 use was very limited, big gap there from 64' to 80'. Colt Firearms Division, Colt Industries (another Name Change) denotes Post 2002 and consumption of pre existing parts Colt could always slide 5.56 marked mags to fill commercial needs but normally not .223 marked mags to mil contracts that specified the 5.56 marking (War necessity aside). Colt is well known for mixed .223/5.56 markings on receivers and barrel/chambers, so mag are no stretch of the imagination either. Colt name changes/dates are well documented.

* Identical cartridge different designations on mags (and receivers). Note: the .222 Remington Special was renamed the .223 Remington which it the civilian market in 1964.
The strange thing here (with my limited knowledge) is that all Colt AR15/M16 up to and including the M16A1 were chambered in .223 Remington (SAAMI 1962) and a few SMG in 9mm. We must understand that the adoption to Cartridge 5.56 Ball M193 (55 grain) in 1963 was just an "added name" for the identical (in and out) cartridge. STILL a 52,000psi chamber pressure with standard 1in 12 Twist. That's the first "5.56" and how a company could use it Pre 1964. It's was absolutely interchangeable with .223 Remington at that time. Military loves metrics, that's why they previously used 7.62×51and not a .308 Winchester. Lol

The "Second 5.56": It was the heavier projectile requirement that gave us the "5.56×45 NATO", a change in rifling (1 in 7 Twist) for stabilizing the projectiles, moved the chamber pressure up to 60,900ps and Proof load of 78,000psi. This required a barrel changes on U.S. Mil M16s and with other changes became the "A2" Version in the 1980s. It is this "Second Generation" with its higher chamber pressures that creates the shoot or don't shoot it in .223 chambered firearms debates which have been beat to death, but a least argue the "correct cartridge loading". Lol

 

[Ric-san]

Plenty of odds and ends at the Pensacola Gun show today, even saw a dozen or so 60’s/70’s AR 20 rd magazines, none Colt or OK, but most selling for between $20-25 per.

 

[Rebel_Rider1969]

I got some of the modern D&H 20rd. They have that 30rd can't to em. Shoot great. $15 I think. Also something werid , they weigh more than the old 20's, poly 20rd ones are heavier too . werid.