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Thread: South African new member : Seek assistance with identifying a Colt .45 cal 1911:

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  1. #1
    Join Date
    23rd August 2018
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    South African new member : Seek assistance with identifying a Colt .45 cal 1911:

    Good day to all members. I am new to your forum, resides in South Africa , was fortunate to received a Colt .45 Cal 1911 Government Model, C9757 as
    Year of Manufacture
    1914
    Model
    GOVERNMENT MODEL AND 1ST MODEL NATIONAL MATCH

    Please be so kind as to assist me in learning more about the history of this Colt?

    Gert Odendaal

  2. #2
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    20th December 2012
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    I had a Griffon 1911 that was made in South Africa. Interesting pistol. Heard that it was made from Norinco imported Chinese parts and assembled in S.A. Anyhow...back to your question...there are plenty of gun sites discussing early Colt 1911's. I've provided a link to one below:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1911_pistol

  3. #3
    Join Date
    29th May 2004
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    Athens, Greece, Earth
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    From the serial number, your pistol is a standard commercial Government Model, made in 1914. How it ended up in South Africa is anybody's guess. I do not know what makes you think it's a National Match pistol though. Here is a link to "National Match" pistols.

    https://www.sightm1911.com/lib/history/nm.htm
    John Caradimas SV1CEC
    The M1911 Pistols Organization
    http://www.m1911.org

  4. #4
    Join Date
    9th June 2004
    Location
    Alabama, US
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    The Colt company lookup shows Government Models that way. Standard commercial GMs and National Match pistols were numbered in the same series. You cannot tell the difference without looking at the gun, which is clearly marked.
    There were no NMs in 1914, that variant did not come out until up in the 1930s.

    The only readily available history would be by paying Colt $100 for an archive letter. That will tell you only the original configuration of the pistol as to finish and special order features; and the date and destination when shipped from the factory. You might be lucky and find that it had been sent direct to SA or maybe to England to outfit somebody going to Africa. After that, getting into dealer sales records of 104 years ago seems unlikely. I know that the London Best gunmakers would procure such accessories as Colt pistols for their customers but don't know if they kept as detailed records as for their own sporting guns.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    4th June 2004
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    Photos would help.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    18th June 2012
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    North Carolina
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    As Doran said, "photos would help."
    I know very little about these early Colts. Was the exact wording "1st Model National Match" ever stamped on the slide? Or the frame? I have seen "National Match" on slides beginning in the 1930's.
    And seeing that the frame # is from 1914, is it possible that the slide is from the 1930's? Again, pictures would be helpful for the experts out there.

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