Original Colt 70 Series 1911 or Argentine Colt 1911?

Looking at 2 potential purchases. Only one may be finalized. Both are within $100 of one another in cost.


First is a mid 1970s Government Model, blued 70 Series. Looks original, not molested / modified, normal wear and tear for age.


Second is an Argentine 1927, made on Colt equipment in the late 1930s. Has been parkerized over original bluing, but all markings seem in good shape and frame, slide, and barrel numbers match, but magazine does not.


Which would be the better investment and why?


Thanks for looking.

A Sistema made in in the late 1930s is a Sistema, not a Colt. Sistemas are collector pieces in their own right, but they don't have the same value as Colts of similar age and condition.

Personal opinion: Since you said "investment," I would vote for the Colt. If you were looking for a shooter, I would vote for the Colt. Since the Sistema isn't original, it has little collector value and can also be used as a shooter, but probably won't be as accurate as a Series 70 Colt.

Argentina started producing 1911 style pistols in 1945; before that Argentina purchased pistols from Colt. If this pistol actually produced in the 1930s it's Colt manufacture. Argentina produced some pistols originally parkerized for the Navy, but if refinished, that greatly reduces the collector value. Some photos might help determine original finish or not.

Update: The Argentine S/N is low 40,000, and one internet page says it would have been produced in the late 1940s. Also, the subject pistol has no import stamps / markings.

https://xavierthoughts.blogspot.com/...t-sistema.html

Quote:

---

In 1923, the Argentine government adopted an armaments bill to eliminate dependency on foreign arms. Finally, in 1927, the Argentine Commission for Foreign Acquisitions negotiated a contract with Colt for the manufacture of M1911A1 pistols, including a a licensing agreement for production. The pistols were to possess a separate serial number series, with the first ten thousand built by Colt in Argentina for the Argentine Army. Colt equipment and employees were relocated and the manufacturing began. From 1927 to 1933 ten thousand pistols, known to collectors as Hartford Argentine Army Models were produced. The serial numbers range from 1 to 10,000. The contract also stipulated that after the first 10,000 pistols, the rights to manufacture would be turned over to Argentina, and production could continue using the same blueprints and Colt trained Argentine employees and inspectors. Thus, the Pistola Sistema Modelo Argentino 1927, Calibre 11.25mm was born.

---

Any Argentinian 1911 with a serial number higher than 10,000 is not a Colt. It's an F.M.A.P. "Sistema." (F.M.A.P. is the abbreviation for Fabrica Militar de Armas Portatiles, or Military Factory for Small Arms.)


https://www.tngunowners.com/forums/t...stema-1911-a1/