Colt First Shipment Argentine Navy Government .45 1911 Blue 5″ Semi Automatic Pistol, MFD 1914 C&R

SOLD FOR: $1,906.00
LSB#: 180804TP09

Make: Colt, Produced for the Argentine Navy

Model: Government Model

Serial Number: C 6283

Year of Manufacture: 1914 (https://colt.com/serial-lookup)

Caliber: .45 ACP

Action Type: Single Action Semi-Auto with Removable Magazine

Markings: The left side of the slide is marked “PATENTED APR. 20. 1897 / SEPT. 9. 1902. DEC. 19. 1905. FEB. 14. 1911″, “COLT’S PT. F.A. MFG. CO. / HARTFORD, CT. U.S.A.” and behind the slide serrations with a rampant colt. The right of the slide is marked “COLT AUTOMATIC / CALIBRE 45” and “MARINA ARGENTINA”. The rear face of the slide, above the firing pin plate, is marked with a cirlced “R” Argentine inspection mark. The bottom of the slide is marked with a star over “4” or “A” just behind the breech-face. The right of the frame is marked “GOVERNMENT MODEL / C 6283”. The left of the trigger guard is marked with a “VP” in triangle. The top of the frame is marked “R 5” forward of the disconnector and has small square stampings behind the disconnector, on the shallow groove the chamber rests on and on the right rail at the chamber. The bottom of the barrel forward of the link lug is marked “RA” in oval and “R” Argentine inspection marks.

Barrel Length: 5”

Sights / Optics: The pistol is mounted with a “U” notched rear sight dovetailed into the slide and a short rounded blade front sight fixed to the slide.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are checkered walnut panels with smooth diamonds around the grip screws. The grips have light wear around the grip screws and a few scattered light compressions. The checkering has smoothed slightly with handling. There are no chips or cracks. The grips rate in about Very Good-plus condition.

Type of Finish: Blue

Finish Originality: Refinished, Possibly Arsenal Refurbished

Bore Condition: The bore is gray and the rifling is shallow but sharp. There is light erosion scattered through the bore.

Overall Condition: This pistol retains about 85% of its current metal finish. The finish is thinning at all edges, moreso on the edges of the slide flats. There are several scattered light marks. The top of the slide has spots of wear which have discolored from oxidation, as does the frontstrap. There is some scattered very light freckling. There are several light marks under the finish. The right of the frame has impact marks around the slide-stop head and some nicks at the top-rear edge near the hammer. The mainspring housing has light surface erosion. There is moderate operational wear. The screw heads range from sharp to very lightly tool marked with strong slots. The markings are clear and crisp with the slide markings, excepting the rampant colt, seeming excessively deep and hard-struck, possibly re-marked in an arsenal refurbish. Overall, this pistol rates in about Very Good condition as refinished.

Mechanics: The action functions correctly. It has both a manual and grip safety and the trigger pull is crisp. The slide is tight to the frame. We did not fire this pistol. The pistol has a lanyard ring on the bottom of the mainspring housing.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This pistol comes with one 7 round magazine. The magazine has blue finish on the bottom 2/3 with the top 1/3 left in the white, a lanyard ring on the floorplate, and the body of the magazine comes down flush with the bottom of the floorplate, with the floorplate pinned in place. The magazine has light-moderate operational wear with disocloration in the unfinished portion, the spring is strong and the feed lips are intact, in about Very Good condition.

Our Assessment: Argentina first began purchasing Colt 1911s for their military in 1914, and this pistol is one of the first to be delivered to the Argentine Navy. Specifically, it falls into the serial range C6201-C6300, which were shipped April 11, 1914 to the Fore River Shipbuilding Company where the Argentine battleship Rivadavia was under construction. The next 100 were shipped the same day to a shipyard in New Jersey where another Argentine battleship was being built and, interestingly, the final 121 of the first order of 321 pistols for the Argentine Navy was shipped in November with the address not listed. This pistol is in about Very Good condition with about 85% of its finish remaining, a gray bore with light erosion and strong mechanics. The pistol has been refinished, and may be an arsenal refinish. It also appears to have had some marking re-struck, which may again be part of an arsenal refinish. For the dedicated Colt collector, this is an opportunity at a pistol which was in the shipment of the first 100 pistols for the Argentine Navy, which appears to be the first of the Colts actually purchased by Argentina. Please see our photos and good luck!

CA Legal or CA Private Party Transferable: This C&R eligible handgun CAN be transferred as a dealer sale in California and CAN be sold as a Private Party Transfer (PPT) at our Simi Valley shop. All cartridge firing handguns (even C&R’s and antiques) sold to a California resident must be DROS’d. This does not apply to out of state residents.