Colt serial numbers can be very confusing. Factory records show that the Gold Cup numbers changed from a 70N prefix to a N70 Suffix in 1981. The N70 suffix series started in 1981, and began with 01000N70. Enter the serial number, without spaces or dashes, to search the database. If multiple models appear for your serial number simply match the date with the appropriate model, as certain vintage firearms can share serial numbers between different models.

I have recently come into possession of a Colt Gold Cup National Match pistol, and I'm a little confused over all of the different iterations of 'Colt Gold Cups'. I'm hoping some of the many 1911 enthusiasts here can help me figure out exactly what I have here. Here are the particulars:
The left side of the slide reads:
COLTS MK IV/SERIES 70
GOLD CUP NATIONAL MATCH
.45 AUTOMATIC CALIBER
The Colt stallion is to the right of this text.
The right side of the slide reads:
GOLD CUP
NATIONAL MATCH
With a trophy to the right of this text.
The serial number is 70NXXXXX
I've been poking around the trusty Wurld Wide InterWeb trying to find information on this pistol, but I'm still confused (National Match, Trophy, Pre-70 GCNM, etc.)
Can anyone tell me when this pistol was made, and what it's worth (VGC, 95+%). Is there anything else I need to know about this pistol (other than the fact that it's pretty sweet...I already know that )
Or, if there is a good one-stop reference source out there on the web, I'd be interested in that as well.
Thanks in advance.
Scott

(Redirected from Colt Gold Cup National Match 1911)

United States Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1911–present
Used by	Over 20 nations, see Users below for details
Wars	As standard U.S. service pistol: Banana Wars^[1] In non-US standard use: Chaco war^[2] Algerian War^[3] Bay of Pigs Invasion^[4] Falklands War^[5] War in Afghanistan^[6] Syrian Civil War^{[citation needed]}
Production history
Designer	John Browning
Designed	1911^[7] and 1924 (A1)
Manufacturer	Colt Manufacturing Company
Produced	1911–present
No. built	Over 2.7 million
Variants
Specifications
Mass	39 oz (1,100 g) empty, with magazine^[7]^[9]
Length	8.25 in (210 mm)^[7]
Barrel length	Government model: 5.03 in (127 mm)^[7] Commander model: 4.25 in (108 mm) Officer model: 3.5 in (89 mm)
Cartridge	.45 ACP
Action	Short recoil operation^[7]
Muzzle velocity	830 ft/s (253 m/s)^[7]
Feed system	7 round standard detachable box magazine^[7]

The M1911, also known as the Colt Government or 'Government', is a single-action, semi-automatic, magazine-fed, recoil-operatedpistol chambered for the .45 ACPcartridge.^[7] It served as the standard-issue sidearm for the United States Armed Forces from 1911 to 1986. It was widely used in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The pistol's formal designation as of 1940 was Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911 for the original model of 1911 or Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911A1 for the M1911A1, adopted in 1924. The designation changed to Pistol, Caliber .45, Automatic, M1911A1 in the Vietnam War era.^[7]

The U.S. procured around 2.7 million M1911 and M1911A1 pistols in military contracts during its service life. The M1911 was replaced by the 9 mmBeretta M9 pistol as the standard U.S. sidearm in October 1986, but due to its popularity among users, it has not been completely phased out. Modernized derivative variants of the M1911 are still in use by some units of the U.S. Army Special Forces and the U.S. Navy.

Designed by John Browning, the M1911 is the best-known of his designs to use the short recoil principle in its basic design. The pistol was widely copied, and this operating system rose to become the preeminent type of the 20th century and of nearly all modern centerfire pistols. It is popular with civilian shooters in competitive events such as USPSA, IDPA, International Practical Shooting Confederation, and Bullseye shooting. Compact variants are popular civilian concealed carry weapons in the U.S. because of the design's relatively slim width and the stopping power^[10] of the .45 ACP cartridge.^[11]

1History
- 1.2Service history
3Users

History[edit]

Early history and adaptations[edit]

The M1911 pistol originated in the late 1890s as the result of a search for a suitable self-loading (or semi-automatic) pistol to replace the variety of revolvers then in service.^[12] The United States was adopting new firearms at a phenomenal rate; several new pistols and two all-new service rifles (the M1892/96/98 Krag and M1895 Navy Lee), as well as a series of revolvers by Colt and Smith & Wesson for the Army and Navy, were adopted just in that decade. The next decade would see a similar pace, including the adoption of several more revolvers and an intensive search for a self-loading pistol that would culminate in official adoption of the M1911 after the turn of the decade.

Hiram S. Maxim had designed a self-loading rifle in the 1880s, but was preoccupied with machine guns. Nevertheless, the application of his principle of using cartridge energy to reload led to several self-loading pistols in 1896. The designs caught the attention of various militaries, each of which began programs to find a suitable one for their forces. In the U.S., such a program would lead to a formal test at the turn of the 20th century.^[13]

M1911 designer, John Browning

During the end of 1899 and start of 1900, a test of self-loading pistols was conducted, which included entries from Mauser (the C96 'Broomhandle'), Mannlicher (the Mannlicher M1894), and Colt (the Colt M1900).^[12]

This led to a purchase of 1,000 DWMLuger pistols, chambered in 7.65mm Luger, a bottlenecked cartridge. During field trials these ran into some problems, especially with stopping power. Other governments had made similar complaints. Consequently, DWM produced an enlarged version of the round, the 9×19mm Parabellum (known in current military parlance as the 9×19mm NATO), a necked-up version of the 7.65 mm round. Fifty of these were tested as well by the U.S. Army in 1903.^[14]

American units fighting Moro guerrillas during the Philippine–American War using the then-standard Colt M1892 revolver, .38 Long Colt, found it to be unsuitable for the rigors of jungle warfare, particularly in terms of stopping power, as the Moros had high battle morale and often used drugs to inhibit the sensation of pain.^[15] The U.S. Army briefly reverted to using the M1873 single-action revolver in .45 Colt caliber, which had been standard during the late 19th century; the heavier bullet was found to be more effective against charging tribesmen.^[16] The problems prompted the Chief of Ordnance, General William Crozier, to authorize further testing for a new service pistol.^[16]

Following the 1904 Thompson-LaGarde pistol round effectiveness tests, Colonel John T. Thompson stated that the new pistol 'should not be of less than .45 caliber' and would preferably be semi-automatic in operation.^[16] This led to the 1906 trials of pistols from six firearms manufacturing companies (namely, Colt, Bergmann, Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM), Savage Arms Company, Knoble, Webley, and White-Merrill).^[16]

Of the six designs submitted, three were eliminated early on, leaving

Colt Gold Cup Serial Numbers