The First CZ 75: SN 00001
I recently had the honor of visiting CZ’s historic flagship factory in Uhersky Brod, in Czechia, the Czech Republic, and got to take the first CZ 75 out of its resting place.
Designed starting in 1969 by the brothers Koucky (Josef and Frantisek) for CZ as a 9mm parabellum chambered pistol made for commercial export, the handgun known as the CZ 75 was finished by early 1975 (hence the designation) with five pre-production samples (serial numbers 00001 through 00005) carefully assembled for testing and evaluation. Some of these T&E samples chalked up over 11,000 rounds in testing with no breaks or serious issues, and the gun soon went into full-scale production with a few minor, mostly cosmetic revisions.
Of those five, CZ 75 expert David Pazdera notes in his book that number 00004 disappeared into history, while 00002, 00003, and 00005 were sold on the commercial market in the early 1980s, leaving just 00001 as the sole remaining sample gun left in CZ’s inventory. They keep it locked inside a display case deep inside a secure vault.
Even with a 50-year-old design, you can easily spot the hallmark geometrical “Golden ratio/Golden section” in length and height used in the CZ 75 to produce an aesthetically pleasing firearm offering a natural point of aim.
CZ 75 Serial Number 00001. Note the slab-sided milled slide, duraluminum grips, and large hammer spur. Also note the very deep scallop to the front of the slide, something that would carry on to the First Model CZ 75s. Other than that, it is easily recognizable to any fan of the 75. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Compare the above to this second-generation 1986-vintage CZ 75 “Pre-B” with all matching serial numbers and zero import marks. (Photo: Chris Eger)
More in my column at Guns.com.