How old is my gun?

Question
My father recently passed and I received his gun collection. Included is a US Carbine CAL .30 M1. s# 3854986
I wanted to know how old it is, is there a way to find out if it was actually used in one of the wars, and possible value for insurance.

Answer
Hello Rob. Your .30cal. Carbine manufactured by IBM (International Business Machines)is just one of 6,221,220 carbines manufactured between June 1942 and August 1945. The serial number you gave as 3854986 was possibly dated 1943.There were a number of companies involved in the production of the M1. These were made to exacting government specifications as was proven when 25 different rifles from several companies were stripped to a jumble of parts and were reassembled at random to fire again on the range. The War Department would issue a contract to each manufacturer and then assign them a range of serial numbers that they were to stick to. The IBM was assigned the numbers 3,651,520 to 4,009,999. I found a couple of IBM's on GUNBROKER.COM. one was approximately 14,600 carbines manufactured prior to yours. It was a in emaculate 99% condition and was priced at $1,450. The other had a mishmash of parts(proving the interchangeability)and was priced at $750. I am not giving you these figures to take to your insurance company, but only as a guide for purchasing one. I hope this information helps.I am very glad you chose me as your AllExpert .Charles Gage