Here for your perusal is Colt .45 ACP 1914 Government Model Pistol serial number C9591 which was 1 of 20 shipped to Remington Arms-UMC Company Bridgeport CT on October 5 1914. The Canadian C broad arrow property mark is stamped on the magazine floor plate and British Birmingham commercial proofing on the slide and barrel.
According to Goddard's book "The Government Models" the 5503 pistols bought by Canada fell within the serial number range C465-C13950 and the 5010 pistols bought by France within the serial number range C14003-C29564 so this pistol falls within the Canadian purchase serial numbers.
That's a very nice pistol with a cool historical background.
The Canadians favored the Mills web holster, which is quite scarce today. The same pattern was later adopted briefly by the Brazilian Navy when they first purchased their Governmental pistols in 1921.
I think that all pistols delivered to foreign buyers had a "C" preffix - with the exception to the guns chambered to the British .455 Eley cartridge, that had a "W" preffix.
I sent information and photos of the pistol to the American Rifleman Magazine's Dope Bag and got this interesting reply from Field Editor Bruce Canfield.
The fact it was one of twenty pistols shipped to Remington would seem to indicate it was purchased for testing of UMC ammunition production.
The British commercial proof marks only indicate that at some point it ended up in the UK. How it got there will almost certainly remain unknown, unfortunately.
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Jan C. Still Lugerforums
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