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Any Colt 1911 Achive Experts Out There?

5K views 14 replies 7 participants last post by  OldVet 
#1 ·
I was given a Colt 1911 45 by a friend of mine and it's an oldie. A little background information passed on to me was that this guy's father carried this gun during WW1. When he returned home, he kept the gun and then gave it to his son(my friend) to carry during WWII. The gun is in great shape with holster wear and supposedly the original holster and mag....

Just wondering if there are any Colt archive experts out there that may be able to provide any information on this gun.

Left side of slide: Patented APR.20.1897. SEPT.9.1902
DEC.19, 1905. FEB.14.1911. AUG.19,1913
United States Property

Right side of the slide: MODEL OF 1911. U.S. ARMY
NO 308XXX

On the left side by the trigger guard is a "roll mark" that looks possibly like a eagles head with S 11 underneath.

Any help or information is appreciated. I would love some history from Colt , but not for their price of archive research. Thanks!
 
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#2 ·
We sure do have one guy on DC that will be able to help you out.

In the meantime try and post some PICS because there are many 1911 luvin' people here that would love to see photos.

Sounds like you have a true treasure there.
 
#5 ·
I have a contact I've met through a rare 1911 collectors group. He has appraised and validated a few gems I've found in 1911 collecting. If you can post some pictures and I'll point out this thread to him. I have learned a few things in my quest of all things 1911;

If I had to guess, it was made in late 1918. Maybe October or November.
The eagle's and number roll mark is the inspectors mark. Colt started using the eagles head and number around the 300xxx serial number and continued 1919, the end of the war.
 
#8 ·
I'll give you some advice in the meantime.

Don't do anything to the holster. Don't oil it and don't use any leather care product on it. Leave it alone.

Don't do anything to the firearm in the form of cleaning the exterior surfaces. Never use any cold blue, WD40, Steel Wool etc.

Don't ever have an original 1911 barrel throated.

Of course you can clean the barrel bore the same way you would clean any firearm barrel bore.

If you want to shoot it - after it is function checked - switch the recoil spring for a modern Wolff recoil spring but, hold onto the original spring so that you can reinstall it to keep your firearm all original.

Yes, you really can actually shoot it. Don't use +P or +P+ ammo.

Take care of those original wood grips. Just the grips are worth a couple of hundred dollars. Don't do anything to the grips. Don't clean them. Don't refinish them. Don't oil them.

Get a properly fitting screwdriver that fits your grip screws exactly so that you don't bugger your grip screws.

The only exterior treatment that you should use on your firearm metal is a light protective coat of Renaissance Wax.

Find it on Ebay.
 
#9 ·
I tried to edit the previous post, but no go, so here's another one. A closer look at the holster flap shows 303AT on the top, "F" stamp under the US on the flap and G&unreadable, 1918 A.G. stamped between the belt loops.
 
#10 ·
RENAISSANCE WAX is used in the following places in the U.S. - The Smithsonian Institute, Colonial Williamsburg Conservatory, Abraham Lincoln Residence, Vicksburg Military Park and Museum, Henry Ford Museum, Academy of Arts, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NRA Museum, Rockefeller Restorations, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Hilton Hotels, BYU Museum of Art, National Ornamental Metals Museum, as well as other museums, government agencies, craftsmen, collectors both professional and amateure alike.

In the United Kingdom it is used in the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Buckingham Palace, Military Museums at Aldershot, H.M. the Queens Royal Armourer, The National Museum of Antiquities - Scotland, Royal Armories (London & Leeds), The Imperial War Museum, Windsor Castle, and The Tower of London.

RENAISSANCE WAX has appeared on and in the following - "The Martha Stewart" TV show, "This Old House" magazine, Better Homes & Gardens "Wood" magazine, The Double Gun Journal, Gun List, 'Blade' magazine, Knives Illustrated, Knifeworld publications, 'Tactical knives' magazine, The Big Show Journal, Ships'n'Scale Magazine, Pool & billiards magazine, as well as many other articles for sportsmen, craftsmen, woodworkers, metalworkers, restorers, conservators and in famous professional reference and restoration publications worldwide! Martha Stewart "Living" magazine, "Real Simple" magazine & various internet forums.
 
#11 ·
Oh...I forgot. Use a coat of Renaissance wax as a barrier coat on the REAR FACES of the wood grips.
That helps prevent rusting and pitting of the frame directly under the grip panels.
That "under grip" rusting/pitting happens when the slightly acidic Walnut wood absorbs moisture out of the air and holds it in contact with the pistol frame steel.
 
#12 ·
Looks like you have a pretty nice example of what collectors call a "Black Army." Several finishing steps were stopped to speed production, which gave the pistol's finish a black look instead of the blue tone of the earlier guns. The eagle head S11 inspectors stamp was used from May 15, 1918 to approximately April of 1919. Your Colt is from the September 18, 1917 contract for 500,000 pistols, with what you shared of the serial, it looks to have been assembled in late 1918.

Could the stamp on the holster be a G&K? (Graton & Knight Manufacturing Co., Worcester, Massachusetts)
 
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