Make: Colt
Model: 1911
Serial Number: 173
Year of Manufacture: 1912. Shipped February 3, 1912 to Springfield Armory.
Caliber: .45 ACP
Action Type: Single Action Semi-Auto with Removable Magazine
Markings: The left side of the frame is marked “UNITED STATES PROPERTY”, the right side of the frame is marked “No. 173”. The right side of the slide is marked “MODEL OF 1911. U. S. ARMY”. The left side of the slide is marked “PATENTED APR.20.1897 / SEPT.9.1902. DEC.19.1905. FEB.14.1911”, “COLT’S PT. F.A. MFG. CO. / HARTFORD. CT. U.S.A.”, and behind the serrations with a circled Rampant Colt logo. The left side of the frame is marked behind the trigger with “WGP” in a circle (Maj. Walter G. Pennfield). The top of the frame is marked “E” at the disconnector.
Barrel Length: 5”
Sights / Optics: The pistol is mounted with a short rounded blade front sight fixed to the slide, and a round-top “U”-notched rear sight dovetailed into the slide.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are two-piece checkered walnut with smooth diamonds around the grip screws. The left panel has 15 (+-1) checkers between the points of the diamonds (consistent with Colt production), the right 13 (+-1), and the right panel is darker in color than the left (consistent with Remington UMC production). The grips have scattered compressions and handling wear, more notable on the right panel, and there is wear in the checkering at the bottom edges. Otherwise, the checkering is generally well defined. There are no chips or cracks. Overall, the grips are in about Good to Very Good condition.
Type of Finish: Blued, small parts fire-blued.
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is gray. The rifling is sharp where not interrupted by erosion. There is light erosion and minor pitting scattered through the bore. In this writer's opinion, the bore rates a 6 out of 10.
Overall Condition: This pistol retains about 60% of its metal finish. The finish is thinning at all edges, some surfaces have gone to a light patina. There is some scattered surface oxidation and there is erosion on the sides of the frame under the grip panels. There are some scattered light nicks and scratches, most notable on the bottom of the mainspring housing at its lanyard loop and under and in front of the slide stop. Much of the fire-blue remains on small parts. The action shows operational wear. The screw heads are tool marked with usable slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this pistol is in about Very Good condition.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. It has both a manual and grip safety and the trigger pull is crisp. The slide has nominal play to the frame. We did not fire this pistol. As with all previously owned firearms, thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This pistol comes with one scarce, original US Pre-WW1 “Step Base Bottom” Lanyard Loop Two Tone 7-round magazine. This is the classic Type I 1911 magazine with the “step” (or space) between the bottom of the body and the floorplate, lanyard loop (also called a lanyard ring) on the bottom of the floorplate, and two tone finish on the body. It retains a good to very good amount of that “two tone” partially blued finish, with a fairly distinct temper line around the middle to upper body. The magazine shows operational wear, scattered surface oxidation, and some surface erosion, but exhibits intact feed lips and a strong spring. It remains in about Good Plus condition. Type I mags were only produced until Serial Number 4500, making any surviving examples quite scarce today.
Our Assessment: The Colt .45 semi-automatic pistol was designed by the legendary firearms inventor John Moses Browning, and developed for the US Army in 1911 after the .38 revolver failed to stop charging Moro warriors in the Philippines. The US Army issued the powerful .45 to officers, NCOs, and machine gunners in the Punitive Expedition and World War 1. This particular Colt Model 1911 is a very early example made in 1912, the first year of manufacture. It was sent to Springfield Armory on February 3, 1912 in just the third shipment of 1911 pistols. Over the nearly 70 year service life of the Colt 1911 and its derivatives, the design underwent several changes. This first year specimen is a veritable time capsule of early features. It retains not only the early-style guide-rod with sharp corners, a rounded bottom edge to the firing pin plate (later changed to a bevel), and short-spur hammer, but also a mainspring housing pin which is convex on each end, dimpled magazine catch lock, commercial polished blue and fire-blue finish, and all four grip screws are the early thin-head type, which was redesigned due to their propensity for damage to their shallow slots. Perhaps most interesting, reference books indicate that hand-checkering on the slide stop and thumb safety was used until approximately Serial Number 150, and changed thereafter to machine-cut checkering. This pistol, Serial Number 173, displays hand-cut checkering on both of those parts, suggesting that hand-checkering was applied a bit longer than previously thought, and making this pistol likely one of the last to exhibit such early features. Early production, three digit serial number Colt Model 1911s such as this are rare and highly sought after by collectors today. This fine old beauty would make a great addition to even the most advanced US pistol or martial arms collection, and provides a wonderful glimpse into the early production of America’s most iconic semi-automatic sidearm, the Colt Model 1911 .45.
Pistol