This rare Norwegian M1914 pistol is in 97% very sharp condition and is totally factory original and all matching and has a mint new bore as well. This is a top collector grade example of the highly regarded and sought after Norwegian variant of the Colt M1911 .45 acp pistol known as the M1914 Kongsberg-Colten. This is a completely original condition completely matching pistol, which is not an easy thing to do on a Norwegian M1914. Norway adopted the model 1911 in 1914 and they are the most popular of the foreign made Colt 1911 type pistols.
This particular pistol was manufactured in 1923 at the Kongsberg Vapenfabrikk and was inspected by Halvdan Alstad as evidenced by his initials AH stamped under the date on the right side of the slide. 1923 dated Pistols are scarce as only 1,660 were manufactured that year. On March 23, 1924 this pistol was part of a shipment of 150 pistols sent to the Norwegian Army Arsenal in Oslo. There it remained until it was sent to the 1st Infantry Regiment sometime in 1938. What happened to this pistol during the Second World War is not known. After Norway surrendered in 1940 many Norwegian arms were issued to the German forces, and it was called the Pistole 657 (n) by them. It was widely issued to the Kriegsmarine and many pictures showing its German Navy service use are known. Of course many of these pistols were also used by the Norwegian Free Army and the resistance.
One only need watch The Heavy Water War on Netflix to see it in action with the Norwegian Commandos. Because of the stopping power of the large .45 caliber it was quite popular with those of any side who carried it. Starting in 1957 and lasting until about 1962 many of these pistols were surplussed by the Norwegian Government and were sold in the US. This pistol may have been a vet bring back or it may have been imported in and sold during this period. If you have been looking for one of these pistols this is certainly a top example as it is still totally matching. Most examples that we encounter these days are not completely matching.
Scotty’s Collector Insight…I personally love these pistols and personally collect them. This is an early production example and the nice thing about these early pistols is that every part down to the firing pin is numbered to the gun. They went away from that complete numbering of every part in 1927 so this is a big plus for this pistol.
