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The Colt Model 1900 in caliber .38 ACP
(Automatic Colt Pistol) was the first of a long line of John
Browning designed semi-automatic pistols that were both
licensed and manufactured by Colt’s Patent Fire Arms
Manufacturing Company in Hartford, Connecticut. Some
collectors refer to the Model 1900 as the “Colt Paterson of
semi-automatic pistols” since Colt’s original Paterson
Model revolver was manufactured by Sam Colt in Paterson,
New Jersey and first offered in 1836.
Collectors tend to categorize the Model
1900 into two distinct variations 1) sight safety models and
2) sight safety altered models.
The earliest pistols were manufactured
with a unique firing pin block safety. With the hammer
cocked and sight safety lowered, the sight safety served as
a firing pin block. When raised in the upper position, the
device also functioned as a sight. This sight safety and
the hammer have a similar appearance as both have a color
case hardened finish. (this finish may no longer be present
on examples that have considerable wear of have been
refinished.)
At a point in production, Colt’s
decided to abandon the sight safety and offered to alter any
existing examples by removing the sight safety and replacing
the device with a plug that was pinned in place. Often
these altered examples were also refinished by Colt’s at the
time the alteration to the safety was performed. Examples
of the Model 1900 that were manufactured after the decision
to eliminate the sight safety left the factory in a sight
safety altered state.
The Model 1900 was manufactured for
three years with a total production of just under 4,300
pistols. Some of the more interesting variations are those
that were purchased under contract for the U.S. Army and
U.S. Navy.
The Photos and Information link above
will provide you with photos and descriptions of some of the
other unique characteristics of these early Colt pistols. |
