May 13-15, 2025 Firearms and Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/13/2025
Only the first 4500 Model 1911s made in 1912 and 1913 had this early high polish finish. It was a beautiful finish but proved to be very time consuming to polish and the finish was also extremely thin and wore quickly so Colt switched to a less time consuming process that was still beautiful but less costly and far more durable. That is exactly why these early high polish 1911s are so hard to find today with any condition at all. Finding one with this much condition is nearly impossible. All of the standard features are present such as the fire blue long smooth trigger, flat main spring housing with loop, fire blue wide spur checkered hammer, fire blue checkered slide stop and safety, first type half moon front sight with U-notch, double diamond checkered walnut grips and a magazine with lanyard ring (no key hole). The left side of slide has the 1911 latest patent date. Right side of slide has COLT AUTOMATIC CALIBRE 45 legend with COLT COMMERCIAL MODEL on right side of frame. CONDITION: Excellent. Both straps are mostly grey patina with flashes of blue as is the base of grip safety which is to be expected as handling quickly dispersed the finish. That said, the balance of finish on this gun is outstanding. Most of the fire blue parts retain majority of that nitre blue. The right side of the trigger shows some raw metal but still retains 70%. The sides and base of frame retain at least 90% bright blue with just high edge wear. The slide shows some age freckling at top, some high edge wear and minor thinning in small areas but at least 85% bright blue remains. The legends are all crisp as new. The grips are superb. The barrel is a later replacement. The bore is crisp. Arguably, the most handsome Model 1911s ever produced.
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