Due to the Eliason rear site, a gold cup is just about the last 1911 I would recommend for self defense. Im the biggest Colt fan in the world and I have never wasted money on a gold cup. Its an overpriced target gun designed to shoot low power 200gr semi wadcutter loads. Some of the really old ones (well outside the $1500 range) are nice, but the more recent guns (80 series, dark days of Colt) are garbage. Even if you change the recoil spring to a full weight 16lb, the Eliason site is still unsuitable and is going to break if you shoot anything other than bullseye wadcutter loads.
The subject of the 'best 1911' will be debated til the end of time. If you want a good resource for 1911 stuff spend some time at the following website:
http://www.pistolsmith.com