I recently purchased a Colt 1911 with serial number 893xx and it does not have the "Property of US government" on it. There is no "C" in front of the serial number and all the other markings are correct and in the right spot. Right side of the slide says "MODEL OF 1911 US ARMY" and the "P" and "H" are on the barrell. The non circle horse is by the hammer and the magazine is even the two one with lanyard hook. I have seen quite a few of these pistols listed without that stamp. There is absolutely no marking to indicate that it was scratched off. Is it possible some of these were never marked? Thanks for the info.

BTW after 100 years it still shoots great. Dare I say better than my Glock?

You can give Colt customer service a call at 800-962-COLT (2658) from 9-5 EST Monday - Friday.
They'll tell you when it was shipped - at the very least. Nice folks there, btw.

__________________
In dog years I'm dead.

From your serial number range the US propertry mark should be on the left hand side of the frame forward of the trigger guard. I'm going to think it was carefully removed and refinished at some time in its life. Any chance of posting a pic?

Thanks. I will post a pic or two tomorrow

P is for 'proofed' and the H means it was a barrel made by High Standard.

your gun shipped july 21, 1914 to "Commanding Officer, Benicia Arsenal, Benicia, CA". the shipment contained 600 pistols. the H & P markings on top of the barrel are correct for ser nr range from app 25,000 to 120,000. High Standard didn't make barrels until WWII. as to not having the property markings on the left side of the frame, it could have missed being stamped. i've heard of this, but not personally seen one. hope this helps. lee

Thanks for all the helpful advice and knowledge. Upon VERY close examinaion the markings could have been removed. If it was they did an excellent job. The flash on the pic helps point it out. Was it common to remove the label once it was sold? I will still enjoy it as a historic momento and ponder what hell it had seen. Here are a couple pics of it. Thanks.

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i think a lot of WWI vets brought home their issued firearms and some probably didn't want the property marks on them. one of my uncles that was in WWI in france tried to turn in his 03 and 1911 several times as he was being mustered out in port in NYC. he said there were stacks of rifles in corners, restrooms etc. you have a nice old warhorse there. thanks for sharing it with us. lee