11/20/23 - This is an original Colt 1911 from 1918 with Black Army finish. To increase production, Colt modified the finishing processes to speed things along and it resulted in a finish that was almost black. The quality was lower and this finish would wear down and "flake" much quicker, as you see on this pistol. Many of the small parts had been outsourced or finished previously, so it's common to see the finish on small parts of these pistols be in much better condition, which is what you see here. The finish is almost entirely worn with obvious brown patina throughout. Fitted with nice wood grips and comes with one period-correct two-tone magazine. The rifling in the bore is pretty good with pin-pricking throughout. NOTE: This gun is not marked 'UNITED STATES PROPERTY'. We cannot tell if it was removed, or never marked in the first place. There are some scratches/milling marks on that area of the frame but they do not appear very deep or show a marking was clearly removed.
