1912 Colt M1911
S/N 6453
This is a very early production
Colt M1911, serial no. 6453 was shipped with 500 other 1911s on September
11th, 1912 to the Commanding Officer
of Springfield Armory. This pistol
is a museum quality restoration, from the ware patterns I would guess it was
restored years ago. It has all the correct parts and is fully functional. This
is a great example of the very early Colt 1911s.
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Figure 1 & 2 nice left
and right profile
Figure 3 Shows the underline No. and is forward of the slide stop hole.
This is common from S/N 4500 to 7500. Prior to S/N 4500 there was no
underline.
Figure 4 Shows the early patent dates, notice last patent date is 1911.
Figure 5 Shows the slide stop, notice the milling cut below the hump.
Figure 6 Shows the Inspectors stamp, WGP = Walter G. Penfield his are
found from S/N 1-101,500
Figure 7 Shows early thin thumb piece with sharper edges
Figure 8 Shows a nice shot of the early Rampant Colt, this style is
observed to about S/N 20,000. Short hammer found on S/N 1-89,800
approx.
Figure 9 Shows the horizontal H
with serifs and have been observed from
approx. S/N 100 to 7500. H should also match the H
above the disconnector on the top of the frame.
Figure 10 shows the early narrow front sight.
Figure 11 Shows the early mainspring housing pin, round at both ends
from S/N 1 to 6500
Figure 12 Shows the gothic H in a vertical position on the rear of the
barrel extension/hood observed on pistols from approximately S/N 6500 to 25000
Figure 14 Shows Frank Hosmers Provisional Acceptance mark. The H stamp
on the back of the slide and frame should always match and from 1912 to 1924 appeared
at 12 o'clock. The Q mark is the assemblers mark.
Figure 15/16 Shows various stamps observed under the slide. In Figure
16 notice the blunt firing pin retainer plate, it was changed to a more
curved variation at approximately S/N 240000 (1918).
Figure 17 Shows the early recoil spring guide with the pointy rear
legs. Switched to a more rounded version at approximately S/N 109,101(1915).
Figure 18 Shows a early Rectangular profile Recoil Spring Plug which
are found from about serial number 6500 to 40000. The lower round profiled
plug started at approximately serial number 40000 to end of production.
Click on images for larger version!!!! | |||
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![]() Figure 18 Top: SN 6500~40000 Bottom: SN 40000 to end |
T. Moore collection |
Rev 1.0