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A somewhat rare and historical M1911

4K views 26 replies 19 participants last post by  prewar 
#1 ·
Here's a pretty scarce 1916 M1911. A 1916 is a tough pistol to find just because so few were produced. There were only 4214 total shipped to the Army, and only 800 total shipped to the Marine Corps that year...making 1916 the year with the least M1911 pistols produced.



As you can see, it's not a real pretty pistol. It has a fair amount of browning overall, but especially on the slide where it rides against the holster. Tannic acid will do that, but I have a feeling, much of the browning is from the tropical climate where it served.

This pistol was shipped 4 November 1916 to Commanding Officer, Hawaiian Ordnance Depot, Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, in a shipment of 700 pistols (134201-134900). This pistol was likely at (or near) Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on 7 December 1941, which led the U.S. to declare war the following day.
 
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#4 ·
Scott...the mix of plum and blue coloring is very pleasing to my eye...and the historical significance of this old war horse makes it even more so.

The Wife and I were just out to Joint Base Pearl Harbor / Hickam, Oahu, HI in 2019...via Space-A and a AMC ( Air Mobile Command ) C-17...utilizing Navy Lodging on Ford Island for the 3rd time in as many years.



There are still visible bullet holes in some of the warehouse buildings from when the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" strafed the island at random after releasing their payloads on Battleship Row.

A must see port of call for All Americans to experience the Cost of Freedom.


Thanks for sharing this historical firearm with us...

.
 
#8 ·
Scott...the mix of plum and blue coloring is very pleasing to my eye...and the historical significance of this old war horse makes it even more so.

The Wife and I were just out to Joint Base Pearl Harbor / Hickam, Oahu, HI in 2019...via Space-A and a AMC ( Air Mobile Command ) C-17...utilizing Navy Lodging on Ford Island for the 3rd time in as many years.



There are still visible bullet holes in some of the warehouse buildings from when the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" strafed the island at random after releasing their payloads on Battleship Row.

A must see port of call for All Americans to experience the Cost of Freedom.


Thanks for sharing this historical firearm with us...

.
Nice Pic. I was stationed nearby for a while in 70 and 71 as part of the guard detachment at West Loch, an ammunition/nuclear storage base. If we climbed the radio tower we could see Pearl City and the lights of Honolulu but back then it was a 40 mile trip through scrub brush and cane fields to get there. When I flew into Honolulu on my way to the Big Island in 02 the cane fields and scrub brush were all gone; replaced with golf courses and suburban housing. Weird.
Dr.Tramp.............
 
#10 ·
The commercial 1916 Government Model, by numbers produced, is not rare at all. In fact, more were produced in 1916 than any other year. That is a contributing factor, I'm sure, to the low numbers produced for the military...or vice versa. I'm relatively confident the needs of the U.S. military had to be met before providing so many for foreign contracts and domestic commercial sales.

However, domestic sales 1916 Government Model pistols aren't that common to see because of the high volume of foreign sales to other countries for WWI. Most of the 1916 GM production went overseas. I have 3 or 4, and have probably owned a dozen or more over the years, but they're still pretty scarce, compared to most other years.
 
#15 ·
1916 was an interesting year for M1911 pistols, with all the different sub-variations of markings on slides, receivers, barrels...and the lack of markings in some cases! And in some cases, even the confusion about the lack of markings!

Here is a 1916 production M1911 pistol that was manufactured by Colt in its entirety...but not assembled and shipped as a completed pistol. This is one of the rare "Frames Only" pistols in the Springfield Armory suspended serial range. Because it was not shipped as a completed pistol, there is no final inspection mark.

The pistol, however, does bear the Hosmer serif "H' markings and is listed in the Colt production records as one of 34 total pistols inspected by Hosmer in the Colt factory on 14 June 1916.



And just to makes us feel better as collectors who sometimes don't have all the answers, Colt provided this letter...proving they were more than a bit confused about these suspended range pistols, too! :)
 
#17 ·
I signed on today to find information on my 1915 1911. I'm fumbling around but hope you can see the gun and documents. I haven't gotten a good value range. Any help is appreciated. Text Font Paper Calligraphy Drawing
 

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#19 ·
I signed on today to find information on my 1915 1911. I'm fumbling around but hope you can see the gun and documents. I haven't gotten a good value range. Any help is appreciated. View attachment 694161
To even be able to offer a guess, it will take much better and brighter images. Use a gray background, no flash and shoot the images more straight on, so we can see the markings and the finish. The white background is fooling your camera and under exposing the gun due the bright background.
 
#22 ·
Here we have new photo's of the 1915 1911 No 124532.
I've reached the attachment limit. I have others and could take more. There are some flaws. The front of frame, between the grips has is brownish. Some holster wear near muzzle. What do you think? The target I posted yesterday is 10 rounds at 50 yrds, on a Ransom Rest.

Thanks for your input.
 

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