Colt M1911 No. 85
1912 Production
Shown below is Colt M1911 No. 85, one of the earliest M1911's ever produced.
No. 85 was included in Colt's 2nd shipment of 50 pistols (No.'s 51-100) to
the U.S. Army on Jan. 18, 1912 (to the Commanding Officer, Springfield Armory).
The early Colt M1911's to serial no. 2400 are notable for a bright, mirror-
like, blue-black, highly polished finish, a result of Colt's oven bluing
process. However, the highly reflective finish, which also scratched and
wore easily, was considered impractical for combat, and on Jan. 25, 1912
Ordnance requested change to a duller, less reflective color (ref. Clawson).
The mirrorlike finish is highlighted by fireblue small components (including
the trigger, slide stop, thumb safety, hammer, magazine catch, rear site,
etc.), another hallmark of pistols up to serial no. 2400 (ref. Clawson).
Other notable features include placement of the serial no. on the right side
of the receiver forward of the slide stop insert, vertically oriented WGP
cartouche, large UNITED STATES PROPERTY stamp, hand-checkered slide stop and
thumb safety, Type 1 dimpled magazine catch, and the earliest type exposed base
lanyard loop magazine. No. 85 also has the early type sear spring.
A biographical letter was written by the grand-nephew of the original owner
summarizing his military service. He was in a Cavalry Unit during the Spanish
American War, and served in Cuba where he was wounded. He was then transferred
to the Philippines as a 1st Lietenant. Later he became a Captain during the
Mexican Border Campaign. He personally knew Colonel MacArthur, and 1st Lieutenant
MacArthur in the Philippines. He also knew General Pershing and Captain Patton
from the Mexican Campaign. In the early 1950's he was killed in an automobile
accident after a hunting trip. He is buried in the family plot at Inglewood
Memorial in Southern California.
No. 85 is a true, pristine museum piece, having been displayed at the C.C.A.
sponsored exhibit Colt: The Legacy of a Legend, May through Oct 2003 at the
Buffalo Bill Historic Center in Cody, WY. Click here for a link detailing
this distinguished landmark exhibit of utmost historical importance,
where approximately 800 representative Colt firearms were on display,
organized by the Colt Collectors Association (C.C.A.).
No. 85 also appears in the book Colt and It's Collectors, on pgs. 194, 195,
and 212. The book is currently in print and can be found here.
A number of the Captain's medals accompanied No. 85 when I acquired it.
CLICK on link of interest and picture will open in a separate browser window.
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