Make: Colt

Model: Government Model

Serial Number: C98089

Year of Manufacture: 1917 (https://colt.com/serial-lookup)

Caliber: .45 ACP

Action Type: Single Action Semi-Auto with Removable Magazine

Barrel Length: 5”

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a short blade fixed to the front of the slide; the top has been filed down a little. The rear sight is a "U"-notch dovetailed into the rear of the slide.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are two-piece checkered walnut with smooth “double diamonds” around the grip screws. The left panel has notable chipping at the bottom-front while the right has a deep compression at the bottom-rear. There are a few other scattered minor marks. The checkering is generally well defined. There are no chips or cracks. Overall, the grips are in about Good Condition.

Type of Finish: Blued

Finish Originality: Original

Bore Condition: The bore is light gray with well defined rifling. There is scattered minor erosion in the bore with a little minor pitting. In this writer's opinion, the bore rates 6 out of 10.

Overall Condition: This pistol retains about 90% of its metal finish. The finish is thinning at all edges. There is light handling wear in the grip areas, more notable on the mainspring housing. There are scattered nicks, scuffs, scratches, and spots of minor surface oxidation. There is a light "idiot mark" under the slide stop on the left of the frame. The action shows operational wear. The screw heads range from sharp to tool marked with strong slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this pistol is in Very Good Plus Condition.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We have not fired 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 original ca. 1917 “two tone” partially blued 7-round magazine.

Our Assessment: The Colt 1911 .45 ACP semi-automatic pistol was designed by the legendary firearms inventor John Moses Browning, and developed for the US Army after the .38 LC 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. The Model 1911 was the end-result of a series of developments by Browning, starting with his Model 1900. The advances made by Browning were revolutionary at the time, and were so successful that they are considered commonplace today. Browning not only developed first a pivoting and then a tilting barrel to allow for a locked system, but he also developed the concept of "the slide", a feature now synonymous with semi-automatic handguns. Having secured the contract for the Model 1911 US military issue sidearm, Colt also offered the pistol to the commercial market as the "Government Model". Many Government Model 1911s were privately purchased by servicemen who may not have otherwise been issued a pistol, especially after the US entered WW1 in April 1917. While serial number records show approximately 22,000 Government Models produced in 1917, those numbers include Colt's foreign contracts, thus there were significantly few available for the domestic US market. 

This Colt US WW1 Era Commercial Government Model 1911 .45 Semi-Auto Pistol was made in 1917, just around the time that America entered the Great War, and is in Very Good Plus Condition. It features a 5” barrel, 90% of its original commercial “high polish” blued finish, two-piece checkered walnut grips with smooth “double diamonds” around the grip screws (the left panel has notable chipping at the bottom-front, while the right has a deep compression at the bottom-rear), a “two tone” partially blued 7-round mag, and a light gray bore with well defined rifling (there’s scattered minor erosion with a little minor pitting). The top of the front sight has been filed down a little. Overall, this is a fine example of a Colt Commercial Government Model 1911 from the Great War era.