1914 original 1911 Commercial sold in the UK to a Army Colonel

[Mike.45]

This is a friends gun he got recently. The holster is inscribed with the owners name and rank and he was a Lt Col in the Royal Artillery, British Amy. I think the gun has sat in its holster for the last 95 yrs in a draw. Its marked 'Not English Made' and was one of the private sales made as the war started.

Its in very good condition with the original blueing having been lost on the grip and parts of the slide. I stripped it completely down this week and found that apart from years of congealed grease the internals are perfect.

I was amazed at the condition of the barrel. The lint in the photos doesn't show up to the naked eye and it looks like a brand new cut barrel. I am not convinced the gun has ever actually been fired but just handled by its owner.

Sadly under the grips moisture got in and there is quite a bit of pitting that I have cleaned up - this doesn't show up in the photos as obviously the grips cover it.

In 1914 this officer decided as he was going to war to buy his own pistol, and he made a great choice. This is a very nice untouched and unaltered gun. It has three magazines with it so he clearly had an idea about the kind of close quarter contacts he would experience in the trenches. Would have liked to have met its original owner.

The pics were taken on my iPhone so sorry if they aint great.

[Mike.45]

Photo of the rifling

[Mike.45]

Sorry the photos are small - I need to figure out how to post bigger ones. Also I meant to use the word 'unaltered' in the title as compared to original.

[mpd1978]

Looks like a nice pistol. Curious what kind of holster it came with? It's rare to find any old 1911 with a mint bore. Thanks for the photos

[supervel]

That is a fine loking gun. Too bad someone slipped with the slide release, but alot of them are that way. Does it by chance have H P stamped on the barrel like the military guns?

[oldcanuck]

Originally Posted by supervel

That is a fine loking gun. Too bad someone slipped with the slide release, but alot of them are that way. Does it by chance have H P stamped on the barrel like the military guns?

Commercial Government Models had different markings.....

[supervel]

Originally Posted by oldcanuck

Commercial Government Models had different markings.....

That is what I thought also. Was wandering if Colt ever slipped up and put one in a commerical? This seemed like a good test case to check.

[Mike.45]

I will have a look tomorrow - I think it has a P rings a bell but I am only 50% on that

[disturbed86]

Originally Posted by supervel

That is a fine loking gun. Too bad someone slipped with the slide release, but alot of them are that way. Does it by chance have H P stamped on the barrel like the military guns?

It seems that the so-called Idiot Scratch is not a modern development. Makes me feel a little better about the one on mine

[Mike.45]

It has a 'P' marked on top of the chamber just in front of where the slide starts to cover the barrel, and the top inside rim of the barrel above the chamber is marked with a 'C'

[1saxman]

The barrel is worth more than most guns. You hardly find one that is not pitted from the corrosive ammo of the day. Too bad about the pitting under the grips. Its funny how people won't take the grips off when cleaning, to just take a look and put a film of oil on the frame. That one thing has killed a lot of gun value over the years.

[Mushinto]

Originally Posted by disturbed86

It seems that the so-called Idiot Scratch is not a modern development. Makes me feel a little better about the one on mine

If it doesn't have an idiot mark, it is probably a fake.

ML

[Colt^]

Amazing, the serial number falls within the range of those 1914 Colt Commercial models bought by the Canadian Government in 1914. If the pistol could only speak.

[supervel]

Originally Posted by Mike.45

It has a 'P' marked on top of the chamber just in front of where the slide starts to cover the barrel, and the top inside rim of the barrel above the chamber is marked with a 'C'

Thanks for checking Mike. I am just getting into the 1911 to 1923 game and this is how we find out with "suspected" unmolested speciams what went on back in the day so to speak.

[supervel]

Originally Posted by Colt^

Amazing, the serial number falls within the range of those 1914 Colt Commercial models bought by the Canadian Government in 1914. If the pistol could only speak.

Is not Canada the same as Enland?

[Mike.45]

Thanks for checking Mike. I am just getting into the 1911 to 1923 game and this is how we find out with "suspected" unmolested speciams what went on back in the day so to speak

If interested I can get some pretty close up photos of any parts that are of interest - I know this gun is without doubt original as it came straight from the family in England from his estate. There is no collectors market for it in the UK as they have been banned for 15 years and it was never in commercial circulation, so actually there is little interest in a gun like this as there is no real collectors per se.

[Colt^]

Originally Posted by supervel

Is not Canada the same as Enland?

Nope! They might have invented the language, but we prefected it

[spursnguns]

Originally Posted by supervel

Is not Canada the same as Enland?

Enland?

It seems like "spelling" was lost along the way somewhere.