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1911 45 magazine # 7693
o b juan
Member Posts: 1,941 ✭✭
7693 stamped on bottom of magazine. is one of the early ones ?
that is the only mark I have seen.
got it in a buy of about 100 magazines
that is the only mark I have seen.
got it in a buy of about 100 magazines
Comments
That said, the ones I've seen marked with numbers like that, have been Argentine. Lot of them were imported and sold as surplus, in the late 60's early 70's time frame. Many were in like new, unissued condition. With the magazines having the same serial as the pistol.
Hopefully Karl will help us out on the collectible skinny.
cut and pasted "There is considerable collector interest in all of the vintage 1911 magazines.
The two-tones resulted from a heat treating process intended to firm up the mag lips and maintain proper angles for feeding. Several variations were tried, including relief cuts ("keyhole" mags) to prevent feed lip cracking, etc. Earlier versions featured a lanyard loop on the base plate, which was eliminated during WW1 production.
Immediately prior to WW1 US M1911 pistols were produced by Colt and Springfield Armory. During WW1 pistols were also made by Remington-UMC and North American Arms. Magazines were made by Colt (unmarked, pinned baseplate), Springfield Armory (baseplate secured by folding the mag sides over it), Risdon ("R" marking on toe), Little ("L" mark on toe), American Pin Company ("A"), and a few others.
M1911 pistols, and the two-tone mags, remained in military inventories through WW2 and later. During WW2 the M1911A-1 pistols were made by Colt, Remington-Rand, Ithaca, Union Switch & Signal, and Singer. Magazines were made by Colt, Little, Scoville, Risdon, American Pin Company, General Shaver, and others. Heat-treatment methods had improved, making the earlier methods obsolete and avoiding the need for two-tone finishes. Contract provisions called for Parkerized finish, but most WW2 mags were actually blued as an expedient method. Parkerized magazines were not generally seen until the very end of WW2, and all that I have encountered were Colt production.
Remaining stores of pistols and magazines remained in military inventories until the late 1980's to mid 1990's, as the M9 pistols were adopted and issued. No new M1911A-1's were purchased after 1945, except for a very few national match pistols and other special purpose pieces. Magazines were produced by a variety of contractors, and are still being made for military units retaining the M1911A-1's for certain applications.
"coolgunsite.com" is a good reference source for most of the variations. Some of the magazines are in very high demand by collectors. Outfitting each pistol with period-correct parts and accessories is a major emphasis for collectors."
EDIT check out Charles Clawson big book ISBN 0-9633971-0-9-
this book talks about 1911 type pistols but the book is $$$ in cost another good book is by JOE POYER ISBN 978-1-882391-46-2
both books have lots of information but you will need money and time to read When I started collecting I made some costly mistakes and then an older friend told me spend as much on books as you do on guns
good advice .
Where is the cutout? I am not familiar with that expression
Karl WOERNER AKA perry shooter
7693
Maybe some one has a 1911 with the serial number I posted
7693
Colt had a number of different production contracts with the Argentine military for 1911's. Dating to the early commercial production, in 1914-1915?. They eventually licensed the Argentine's, to produce 1911's for themselves in the 1920's.
To make a long story short, your mag is probably from one of the Argentine manufactured Colts. Which were in a different serial number range, that the Colt's 1911's manufactured at the same time in the U.S.