Top Guns: 2015 April Premiere Auction

In case you missed our post-auction write-up, our April Premiere Firearms Auction was a weekend filled with bidder battles that made for an exciting and fun event.  The sale as a whole garnered over $11.6 million and enjoyed great participation, with many lots receiving dozens of sealed bids before the auction even started.  Per positive response, here again are the top items in a whole bunch of categories we hope you find useful or interesting.  Again, these aren't some cherry-picked stats from the auction that we use to hype our results.  This is straight from the data to you.  Enjoy!

Most Popular Item

Lot 3871: : Cased Colt Python Double Action Revolver

Number of Sealed Bidders: 36

To clarify, this revolver had 36 bidders competing for it before the auction began.  This isn't really surprising since Colt snake guns, especially the Python, are currently enjoying a celebrity-like level of attention.  It's also not surprising that this particular revolver broke its low estimate of $1,300 and sold for $3,162.  What is surprising is that this example has the second lowest estimate out of all Pythons in the entire auction.  What does that tell us?  That people are still trying to get in on these tough looking beauties on the ground floor.

Something that WAS surprising for Colt Pythons was the new record price reached for one during this auction.  Lot 1934 was a first year production with the low serial number of 170 and it easily caused the most excitement of the weekend as bids just kept climbing and climbing.  It would eventually sell for $17,250.

Top Dollar

Lot 1093: Highly Documented, Cased, and Earliest Known Factory Engraved Colt Pocket Model Paterson Revolver No. 1 (Baby Paterson) with Accessories

Realized Price: $414,000

Drawing top dollar in this auction was this diminutive Colt Paterson.  These pocket pistols are the earliest offering from the legendary manufacturer and this example is particularly early with its serial number of 98.  Therefore not only is it one of the first one hundred Colts ever made (in quantity), it is also the earliest known factory engraved Colt and the earliest known to be fitted with pearl grips.  Only 500 No. 1 Model revolvers were ever made.  Its mother-of-pearl grips, special 1 3/4 inch barrel, hand-engraved frame, backstrap, & barrel, six German silver band inlays, backstrap inlaid with a German silver escutcheon, case-hardened frame & hammer, and six German silver stud inlays to secure the grips are, in the opinion of Colt expert R.L. Wilson, evident that this was used as a sample piece by Samuel Colt himself.  This revolver has been in numerous prominent collections and documented in several books.

Highest Performing Item Overall

Lot 3772: Cased Colt Rattlesnake Legacy Edition Commemorative Model 1911A1 Semi-Automatic Pistol

Low Estimate: $900
Realized Price: $4,887

The coolest features about this gun are easily the grips bound in the skin of an American Diamondback rattlesnake.  What's unusual is that commemorative guns typically don't draw huge prices.  Yes, Colts have often been the top performers at our auctions, but usually they're classic models that have stood the test of time, and while a 1911A1 certainly fits that bill, a modern commemorative one doesn't.

This Colt just barely edged out lot 3492 as the top performing item overall; it contained the rare Springfield Armory experimental M1 Garand chambered for the 22-06 cartridges.  Generating much interest and many bids, the iconic weapon far surpassed its $6,500 low estimate on its way to sell for $31,625.

Highest Performing Genre: Shotguns

Lot 1746: Extremely Scarce, Desirable, and Documented Parker Bros. AHE Double Barrel Shotgun with Vent Rib in 20 Gauge with Additional Barrel Set

When we say that Rock Island Auction Company is becoming the place to go for high end hunting pieces, both rifles and shotguns, we're not kidding.  It's always nice to see the numbers verify the trends one notices in person.  Shown above is the double barrel Parker Brothers shotgun that found the highest sale amount of the genre at an impressive $48,875.  The top performing shotgun though was a bit more, shall we say, popular, in nature.  Lot 3746 contained the Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun: banned from import in both 1989 and 1994, and featured in movies such as Jurassic Park, Terminator, The Matrix, & Snatch, was (pun intended) snatched up by a collector who disregarded the $1,000 low estimate to add the celebrity shotgun to their collection for $3,737.  That's 225% OVER its anticipated figure.

Lot 3746: Franchi SPAS-12 Semi-Automatic/Slide Action Shotgun with Box

Highest Selling Colt

Since the top dollar of the entire auction and the top performer of the auction were Colts that we've already covered, we'll just move right along.

Highest Selling Winchester

Lot 1017: Rare Deluxe Factory Engraved Gold-Plated Winchester Model 1866 Lever Action Rifle

This deluxe Winchester 1866 lever action, manufactured circa 1869, drew $69,000 at auction.  This third model has a gold finish that was period replated, a highly figured fancy walnut stock with the high polish piano finish, over 70% of the original blue finish, a nitre blue loading gate with barely a mark upon it, factory engraving on the receiver, fore end cap, & buttplate, special sights, and several casehardened small parts.  It would be easier to list the special order features this rifle didn't have!

Highest Selling German Arm

Lot 1451: Extraordinary Historic Pre-World War II Walther Factory Engraved Gold Plated Model PP Presentation Pistol For King Carol II of Romania

With three world class selections in this auction all with an emphasis on German and European arms, it was anybody's guess which collector firearm would claim the top spot in this genre.  When the auction was all said and done, the gilded Walther PP you see above reigned supreme as the top grossing German arm with a realized price of $92,000.  Hot on its heels in second place was the DWM Model 1902 "Cartridge Counter" Test Luger in lot 3345 that earned $74,750.

Highest Selling Civil War Item

Lot 265: Rare Cased Pinfire LeMat Grapeshot Revolver

This cased Belgian pinfire version of the Civil War hand cannon earned this honor with a sale price of $31,625.  Some lucky collector also received the added bonus of some nasty looking fragmented "slugs" for use in its 20 gauge smoothbore barrel.  In no small coincidence, the third best selling Civil War arm was also a LeMat in lot 1085, though it was a Paris addressed Second Model that used the percussion firing system.  Both are a tribute to the popularity of what is easily the most recognizable Confederate revolver.

Highest Selling Non-Firearm

Lot 1295: Historic Theodore Roosevelt Presentation Inscribed Western Saddle with Research

This  category was also wide open with the amount of historic and often highly adorned Nazi items appearing in this auction.  It's hard to hide my satisfaction that this item, with its neat presidential and wild west history, edged out the Nazi gifts.  I believe Teddy would say, "BULLY!"  This was a gift to President Roosevelt from the historic Rough Riders, which he in turn presented to Lucille Mulhall, known then as "The First Cowgirl" and "Queen of the Range."  That's a lot of history between two stirrups.

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Well how about that?  This was a very well-rounded sale with three phenomenal collections focusing on German and European arms, but the Colts still took the cake.  Not only did a Colt see the highest price of the auction, and the best performance, but also the auction's most popular item!  This doesn't even mention the large number of other Colts that received a high number of bids before the auction even began.  They were also aided by the William Baird Collection - a lifelong study on Colt Model 1877/78 Lightnings and Thunderers.  We don't call Colts "blue chip" guns without good reason.

Now that you've read about the past auction, be sure to check out the upcoming auction!  That's right! The catalog for our June Regional Firearms Auction is already online as of today.  Head on over today to search for all your favorites and to place those bids as early as possible.


-Written by Joel Kolander

Click here to search our June Regional Catalog!

1911s of the Second World War

As we all know, when American decided to enter World War II after the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor it was "all hands on deck."  Everyone in the nation was contributing through whatever means necessary: rationing of goods, rubber drives, saving fats, Victory gardens, nylon drives, tin can collection, carpooling, blackouts, women joining the workforce en masse, and hundreds of thousands of War Bonds were sold.  However, John and Jane Q. Public were not the only ones to contribute to the war effort.  Corporations across America were tooling up to help meet war needs and to beat back the Axis powers.  The Kaiser Corporation, which had seen great growth in the 1930s building dams under federal contracts, began building ships, planes, and other vehicles.  Ford Motor Company has been producing airplane engines for the British before America entered the war, but soon switched over to full-time military production making B-24 Liberators, superchargers, generators, military gliders, tanks, armored cars, jeeps, grenades, bombs, landing crafts and more.  Chrysler was making tanks, anti-aircraft guns, the Martin B-26 bomber and B-29 Superfortress, fuses, shells and more!  Countless companies dropped what they were doing before the war, refocused, and turned the full industrial might of a nation on toward the war effort.

If a country is saving its pan drippings to beat you, that's a bad sign.

The 1911A1 was not immune to this boost in production from multiple sources.  Part of this precipitated thanks to the War Department not allowing many contractors to finish their World War I contracts.  By cancelling those productions, the United States found itself short of sidearms, much like it did at the beginning of World War I.  This lack of produced firearms was exacerbated by the slashed military funding after WWI.  Since soldiers were not needed in their WWI quantities, the government limited the Army 144,000 officers and men!  If that's the limit they placed on personnel, you can imagine the financial restrictions placed on munitions, arms, parts, repairs, and other military essentials.

With multiple manufacturers required to build the United States' arsenals to appropriate levels for war, it would give collectors of the legendary pistol quite a bit to focus on in future decades.  1911 production models during World War II were manufactured by five different companies - ALL of which will be appearing in Rock Island Auction Company's May 2014 Premiere Firearms Auction.  1911s will be generously represented as will many of the U.S. military arms, Class III firearms, and an extraordinary collection of German WWII military items known simply as The Von Norden Collection.

We will also be auctioning M1911 pistols from every manufacturer during the first World War, but that's an article for another week.  Back to the topic at hand.  It was the aforementioned shortage of military funding that led to the most desirable of all 1911A1s: the Singer.


Singer
The Army's cash shortage was notable.  Then Captain George S. Patton is said to have used his own funds to pay for parts to keep his successful tank brigade up and running.  The M1 Garand, while still adopted, had to compromise and be made in the existing .30-06 cartridge instead of the superior .276 Pedersen round.  The new round would have taken massive funds to be developed and produced as well as required the conversions of vast amounts of the Army's machine guns.  To help its financial burden the Army had to get creative as is best described in Patrick Sweeney's book 1911: The First 100 Years.

"Despite this situation, the Army was able to make some progress in the late 1930s and early 1940s before Pearl Harbor.  They were able to issue "educational contracts" to manufacturers, contracts that paid for the costs of setting up to make small arms, and to produce a small run as proof of performance.  One such contract went to the Singer Sewing Machine Company in April of 1940.  Singer was able to produce the 500 test pistols required.  but with delivery of the 500 right at Pearl Harbor time, the government's contract offering of 15,000 more pistols was turned down, Singer's board of directors feeling that their company's skills, knowledge, and factory were better put to use manufacturing ship and artillery fire control directors.  So the 1911A1 tolling was boxed off to Remington Rand.  Those 500 Singer 1911A1s are the perhaps the Holy Grail of 1911 collecting." 

Those original 500 pistols were distributed to Army Air Corps personnel.

Rare World War II U.S. Singer Manufacturing Company Model 1911A1 Semi-Automatic Pistol

Remington Rand
Remington was so busy making rifles, that they really didn't have a lot of time to dedicate to side arms.  This despite the fact that they had already made about 22,000 pistols during WWI before the government shut down its production line, due to interchangibility issues with the pistols made by Colt and Springfield (however, it was this issue that led to Colt producing a new set of production specs in 1936 which would greatly aid production in WWII).  Perhaps it was a still a sour taste in their mouth from that previous wrist-slapping that led Remington-UMC to send their government contract to their subsidiary formed in 1886, Remington Typewriter.  The spin-off's merger with Rand Kardex and Powers Accounting in 1927 left it renamed Remington Rand, but they soon began manufacturing 1911A1s in addition to the glut of typewriters that were also needed for the war.  After some brief production issues that required the attention of President James Rand, Jr. to fix, Remington Rand manufactured slightly less than 878,000 1911A1 pistols between the years 1942 and 1945, making them the leading wartime manufacturer of the pistol.

Side note:  Remington Rand received part of their tooling from Singer, who declined their government contract, but they also received tooling from Harrison & Richardson.  H&R at that time was going through a bankruptcy was only able to produce 20 pistols, not even enough for a successful "test batch" as Singer had produced.  None of H&R's 20 pistols were accepted and the government rescinded their contract in June 1942.  Some of the 1911 tooling at H&R went to Remington Rand, but most of it went to our next 1911 manufacturer.

Unique Very Early Production Second Contract U.S. Remington-Rand Model 1911A1 Semi-Automatic Pistol without FJA and Ordnance Proof

Ithaca
Despite their financial troubles in the late 1960s, Ithaca Gun Company was a prominent firearms manufacturer when America became involved in WWII.  The government didn't require many of their popular shotguns (yet did ask them to make several thousand 12-gauge riot shotguns with M1917 bayonet attachments), but did offer them a contract to produce 60,000 1911A1s in 1942.  After receiving some of the necessary tooling from Harrington & Richardson, Ithaca began rapidly producing the desperately-needed pistols - even going as far as to assemble pistols from parts shipped to them by other manufacturers.  Some of these parts were from surplus WWI production, including about 6,000 Colt receivers!  Soon Ithaca would have all the manufacturing equipment in-house and would ramp up production to total 335,000 - 340,000 pistols between late 1943 until the end of the war.  Ithaca could have produced many more of these pistols had the government not cancelled the contract in its post-war fund cutting.

Fun Fact:  Ithaca was invited to produce a "test batch" of pistols in the Army's fund raising efforts, but the Army discontinued the program before they could submit a batch.

Excellent U.S. Ithaca Model 1911A1 Semi-Automatic Pistol

Colt
Colt's story of WWII production 1911A1 pistols is a little different than every other manufacturer here for the simple fact that they were assembling them readily before WWII.  In fact, once the government contracts increased due to war, Colt discontinued making their Government Model 1911 pistols (which is what Colt called the 1911 made for the civilian market) in 1942 so that they could focus all of their pistol manufacturing efforts toward military sidearms.  They even took 6,575 existing, unsold Government Model guns, re-stamped, and Parkerized them for the Army.  The parts for these civilian guns were also used to satisfy military contracts.

In the story of 1911A1 pistols, Colt is more often mentioned as a reference for all the other companies that were contracted to also make the pistols.  Colt was often helping provide technical assistance (as was Springfield), to these newly contracted manufacturers.  One would think that between providing all this help and its status as one the government's primary machine gun producers, Colt could have used the same excuse as Remington and said it had "no time" to make the 1911 pistols that it already knew so well how to produce.  However, it still turned out around 629,000 1911A1 pistols, making it the second leading producer of the beloved sidearm in addition to having a mandated priority of producing the United States' machine guns (M1919, M1919A6, & M2HB).

World War II U.S. Army Colt Model 1911A1 Pistol

Union Switch & Signal
Union Switch and Signal, referred to more commonly as just "Switch & Signal" was the last company to be offered a M1911A1 contract.  As one can infer from the name, this subsidiary of Westinghouse Air Brake Company was accustomed to making railroad equipment.  In 1942 they received their first contract and began producing, but just after they had begun, the government realized they had ordered too many pistols and asked US&S to make M1 carbine parts instead.  The next month their contract for pistols was officially cut from 200,000 to 30,000.  US&S agreed to make the M1 parts and just when they almost finished with the initial slashed order of pistols and were to begin manufacturing the carbine parts, the government reneged again and instead increased their original M911A1 order by 25,000.  US&S ended up producing 55,000 pistols for their indecisive client.

U.S. Union Switch & Signal Model 1911A1 Semi-Automatic Pistol

The 1911, despite being firmly entrenched in the hearts of American collectors, suffered after World War II.  Colt was actually losing money toward the end of the war and with thousands of veterans returning home with guns, they didn't have as many people looking to buy.  In fact, no M1911 or M1911A1 pistols have been produced after 1945.  Even with the Korean War providing a new source of income, Colt had to sell in 1955 to the Penn-Texas Corporation, setting in motion a long string of mismanagement and apathy.  In 1985, the the Beretta 92F was officially adopted and replaced the M1911A1 as the sidearm of the Army.  1911 pistols are not without their detractors, but they have served the United States longer than any other military arm, thus cementing themselves and their inventor into the history and lore of this country.













SOURCES

Clawson, Charles W. Colt .45 Service Pistols: Models of 1911 and 1911A1: Complete Military History, Development, and Production 1900 through 1945. Fort Wayne, IN: C.W. Clawson, 1991. Print.

http://www.coolgunsite.com/pistols/colt%20production.htm

http://www.m1911.org/full_history.htm

http://www.nramuseum.org/the-museum/the-galleries/ever-vigilant/case-64-world-war-ii-us/us-colt-model-1911a1-semi-automatic-pistol.aspx

Sweeney, Patrick. 1911: The First 100 Years. Iola, WI: Krause Pubns, 2010. Print.

John Browning & The Birth of the Model 1911

The sight of a M1911 pistol evokes over 100 years of firearms history in a single glance.  Carried on the hips of thousands of G.I.s and invented by "the greatest firearms inventor the world has ever known," it has a special place in American history.  But what about its own history?  How did it come to be and how did it starts its legendary journey?  Come with us as we explore this iconic and revered pistol and then show you some prime examples of its early prototypes that will be up for sale in Rock Island Auction Company's 2013 September Premiere Auction.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL OUR EARLY COLT SEMI-AUTOS!

Lot #1804: Desirable Early Colt Model 1902 Military Pattern Semi-Automatic Pistol

First things first, the M1911 was not actually "invented" in 1911.  That designation instead reflects its March 29, 1911 official date of adoption by the U.S. Army.  The journey of the semi-automatic pistol starts almost two decades earlier.  Semi-automatic pistols had already been invented long before the 1911, the first of which to enjoy any level of commercial success being the Borchardt C-93 followed soon after by Mauser's C96 "Broomhandle."  For that matter, Maxim had already patented his fully automatic machine gun midway through 1883.  That in mind, it seems that the semi-automatic, especially the 1911, was a bit behind the times.  However, the development of a U.S. made semi-automatic pistol would still be a great boon to U.S. troops.

The Philippines declared war on the United States on Jun 2, 1899.  It lasted only until 1902, but gave rise to the Moro Rebellion, a conflict that would last until 1913.  The Moro were a local tribe that lived in the southern islands of the Philippines, known for their fanatical guerrilla fighting.  The Moro were no stranger when it came to warfare., having fought the Spanish for years prior to encountering the U.S. Army.  At that time, the U.S. soldier's standard sidearm was the Colt M1892 .38 caliber double action revolver.  Unfortunately for the U.S. forces when they would find themselves locked in combat with the Moro tribesmen, they found the revolver to be unsuitable for the task.  The hand-to-hand combat weapon of choice for the Moro tribesmen were several distinct bladed weapons, most notably the kris.  When the kris was placed in the hands of a man motivated by the cocktail of hatred of occupying forces, religion, and the natural octane of adrenaline, he could do much damage to U.S. troops before he would be brought down by the smaller cartridges.  This situation was documented by one recent author, when he writes,

"In response to problems encountered by American units fighting Moro guerrillas during the Philippine-American War, the then-standard Colt M1892 revolver, in .38 Long Colt, was found to be unsuitable for the rigors of jungle warfare, particularly in terms of stopping power, as the Moros had very high battle morale and frequently used drugs to inhibit the sensation of pain."

A painting where a U.S. soldier finally wields a 1911 against the Moro.

There is speculation that the Moro would take various types of drugs before their battles, a debate that also revolves around other berserker-style warriors.  Given their Islamic religion this seems unlikely, however, it seems to be the current, popularly accepted history.  Their fierceness in battle is recalled by Gen. John " Black Jack" Pershing in a letter to his wife stating that, "the fighting was the fiercest I have ever seen.  They are absolutely fearless, and once committed to combat they count death as a mere incident."  The army tried several different sidearms to remedy this "anemic" firearms, even the 9mm Luger, but its ineffectiveness was documented in a quote of Brig. Gen. Samuel S Sumner when he said, "The Luger automatic pistol as a hunting pistol and for dress occasions is attractive and useful.  I have one which I prize highly, but for field service, in the hands of officers and men, it is a failure.  It is too complicated, and cartridges often jam, but the main defect is that the bullet will not stop a Moro."  The Army eventually reissued the M1873 Colt .45 revolvers, the "Peacemakers," as they were still plentiful.

While 1911s were not developed in time to be used against the Moro in any notable capacity, except perhaps the 1913 Battle of Bud Bagsak, the early battles against the Moro did give rise to the well-known Thompson-LaGarde field tests held in Chicago, Illinois.  The Thompson-LaGarde tests took place in 1904 to find out just which caliber of weapon the U.S. military should be using in its handguns.  These tests took place using live and dead cattle as well as some human cadavers used as ballistic pendulums!  As one can expect the tests have drawn harsh criticism for being unscientific, predetermined, as well as inhumane, but in the end the tests concluded that "the only safeguard at close encounters is a well-directed rapid fire from nothing less than a .45-caliber weapon."

John Moses Browning

This new requirement in mind, six manufacturers submitted entries into the 1906 trials to find a new military handgun.  Three of the designs were eliminated early with Colt, Savage, and DWM remaining as the sole survivors.  Improvements would gradually be made to each model and subsequent tests would be performed, but in 1910 the Browning would set itself apart from the Savage, the only remaining competitor at that time.  A test was held and personally attended by John M. Browning (JMB) himself, where the 1911 fired 6,000 rounds over the course of two days with no malfunctions; the Savage suffered 37.  The story goes that when the Colt sample became too hot it would simply be dunked in a pail of water to cool it.  The Colt would be formally adopted by the Army on March 29,1911 and was then bestowed with its famous moniker.  The initial order of 31,344 pistols would be more than one third of the entire company revenues for 1910.  There is so much more to talk about regarding the genius of Browning, the early importance that the manufacturing prowess of Colt would have for our country, Browning's other contributions to the world of firearms, and the many later roles that the 1911 would hold.  However, today we're here to show off early models and prototypes, so we'll have to hold the 1911's story to just its birth and a general one at that.  If you want the minutia of every adjustment, modification, patent, letter, and model that Browning and Colt worked on, may I recommend the book The Government Models: The Development of the Colt 1911 by William H.D. Goddard.  It is oft considered the authoritative work on the subject, is unrelenting in its thoroughness, and shows large, detailed photos of each example discussed.  Oh, and the second gun discussed in this article (Lot #1775) is from his phenomenal collection.

Rock Island Auction Company is proud to offer several Browning-Colt prototypes that were steps on the journey to this legendary firearm.  The first is a 1900 U.S. Navy contract model that features the "sight safety."

Lot #3588: Extraordinary Documented U.S. Navy Contract Colt 1900 "Sight Safety" Model Semi-Automatic Pistol with Factory Letter

This scarce pistol is all original and one of the first Model 1900 semi-automatic pistols produced for the U.S. Navy.  The "sight safety" is an extremely rare feature that incorporated both the rear sight of the pistol as well as the safety.  Like most safeties it worked by blocking the hammer from striking the firing pin when engaged.  The Model 1900 was the first semi-automatic pistol manufactured by Colt and also the first of JMB's successful semi-automatic pistols.  The sight safeties were an early feature and considered especially rare.  Making this particular pistol even more exception is that it is part of the original 2250 Colt contracts pistols that were shipped to the U.S. Navy in October 1900.  They were shipped in 5 lots of 50 and this pistol was in the third of them.  It lists the Colt serial number of 1146 on the right side of its frame and the Naval serial number of 146 on the left.  It's about as early as it gets regarding Colt semi-automatic production (i.e. non-prototype) pistols and this one is in excellent condition.

Sight safety visible in front of the hammer spur.  Also notice the case-hardened hammer, screw, and magazine catch.

Lot #1775: Extremely Rare Documented Colt Model 1900 Sight Safety/Browning Slide Lock Prototype Semi-Automatic Pistol

This particular Colt Model 1900 might appear very similar to the one listed above.  After all, they're both Colt 1900's, right?  Correct, to a point.  The right side of the receivers and slides look identical other than condition.  Take a good long look at the left side of the slide and receiver on this pistol.  Starting to see the differences?  There's a notch out of the slide and the addition of a small vertical, thumb operated "switch"?  That, dear reader, is the prototype for the slide lock and its release switch.  That's right!  The feature now found on virtually EVERY semi-automatic pistol!  He created it to quell the criticism that the gun required two hands to initially fire, a complaint absent from the proven, popular revolvers.  Browning personally pulled this pistol, serial #1433, from the Browning Bros. store stock and added his new, revolutionary feature after constructing it himself out of steel.  Aside from the small switch, the additional hole in the frame above the trigger, and the small notch removed from the slide just forward from the serial number, this pistol looks like any other Model 1900.  Revolutions sometimes arrive quietly.

Showing a close up of the sight safety and a inconspicuous looking slide release lever at lower left.

 During improvements JMB submitted 5 patents: parallel ruler hesitation locking, slide lock, single link barrel, grip safety, and thumb safety.  Each improvement would have its own prototype.  The pistol showing the "parallel ruler" feature resides in a Browning family collection in his hometown of Ogden, Utah, and the other three prototype pistols are in private collections.  Knowing that this gun is one of the five Browning prototypes AND fashioned by Browning's own hand, it can be easy to forget that this gun also still features 90% of the original blue finish and has the desirable sight safety.

Lot #3551: Exceptional and Rare First Year Production Colt Government Model Semi-Automatic Pistol with Low Three Digit Serial Number C183

This model should look a little more familiar to fans of the Government Model, though this pistol is anything but modern.  Timeless perhaps, but not modern.  It is a first year production of the Government Model and its condition is exquisite.  This revolver was made in 1912, and is serial number C183.  Colt would make up through C2030 that year and pistols with the "C" prefix ("C" for commercial) would only be manufactured through 1949.  The gun's condition will meet the requirements of any collector.  The finish is gorgeous and shows the deep, gorgeous, early finishing process that Colt used before the Army declared it "not durable enough."  This resulted in Colt no longer buffing the pistols to a blued mirror finish around serial no. 500 and after serial no. 2,400 the process changed greatly and the resultant finish would be gray/blue in color.  The peacock blue accented small parts add another level of eye-catching beauty to this phenomenally kept weapon.

If you miss the bid on this one, you can always catch serial number C502 in Lot 1779, still a first year production and in an equally gorgeous condition.  You could also bid on C1878 in Lot 1797, which is a second year model and as beautiful as the first two.  Colt collectors, you have been put on notice.


These are some of the highlights of the early Colt models that will be for sale in our September Premiere Firearms Auction to be held September 13th-15th, 2013, but they are far from the only ones.  We'll have another low serial number, first year production, a Russian contract, a Brazilian contract, Aces, a Singer "Tool Room Prototype," a Colt 380 vest pocket hammer pistol prototype, rare finishes, fancy grips, cased models, a test pistol, and a Colt-Jolidon semi-automatic prototype.  And those are just the Colts!  We'll also have several early Savage semi-automatic prototypes and even a DWM 1902 American Eagle "cartridge Counter" Test Luger.  You want early semi-autos?  We've got 'em at Rock Island Auction Company!

"Firing the Automatic, a snapshot somewhere in France."  Here, a Marine
demonstrates the 1911 for the French in a well-known 1918 photo.  Goddard notes
in his book that, "In the Sunday Globe Magazine, it illustrated an article entitled,
"Eight Million Shots Ready for the Hun."

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL OUR EARLY COLT SEMI-AUTOS!

SOURCES:

Goddard, William H. D. The Government Models: The Development of The Colt Model of 1911. Lincoln, R.I., U.S.A.: A. Mowbray, 1988. Print.

Linn, Brian McAllister. The Philippine War, 1899–1902 (Modern War Studies [Paperback]). University Press of Kansas, 2000. Print
Sweeney, Patrick. 1911: The First 100 Years. Iola, WI: Krause Pubns, 2010. Print.

http://www.browning.com/library/infonews/detail.asp?id=301

Large Selection of U.S. Related Military Rifles & Pistols

Once again Rock Island Auction Company has outdone itself by assembling one of the finest groupings of over 80 U.S. Army contract and original Colt Commercial M1911 and M1911A1 semi-automatic pistols.

   

Just a quick sampling of the extensive nature of this grouping is that it spans some of the earliest M1911, U.S. Army contract pistols such as the super rare 1912 Colt U.S. Navy contract pistol (lot 1856), the unique and equally rare Remington-UMC contract M1911 (lot 1865), we then have several all original mid and late WWI all blued U.S. Army contract pistols. Then there is a post- WWI 1924 dated Colt M1911 transitional pistol (lot 1853). The grouping then shifts to an early pre-WWII Colt M1911A1 "CSR" inspected M1911A1 (lot 3650), numerous examples of standard, WWII M1911A1 U.S. Army contract pistols as manufactured by the Remington-Rand, Ithaca and US&S companies. Which also include two super rare WWII M1911A1 "Presentation" pistols; one is a Union Switch and Signal (US&S) serial number "XP#11" (lot 1855) that is accompanied by a letter from the noted author and M1911A1 authority Charles Clawson. The second one an equally rare Ithaca Manufactured M1911A1 pistol, also a WWII Presentation pistol, that was specifically presented to Captain Sheldon Smith that carries serial number "XP#1", (lot 1852). Next we transition into a large grouping of all original Colt Commercial M1911 and M1911A1 pistols, both pre and post-war versions with many boxed examples. Next we have ten of probably the best pre and post WWII Colt "38 Super" automatic pistols, we have ever had the opportunity to offer for sale. This being two "First Year" Colt 38 Supers, one (lot 3612) still in its original Colt factory box, several late pre-war standard Colt 38 Supers with several post WWII Colt 38 Super automatics, with some still in their original Colt factory boxes. This large grouping also includes one of the rarest and best contraction, all original, documented WWII U.S. Army contract M1911A1 boxed "38 Super" automatic pistols. This specific pistol is noted as being the "Lost" 38 Super , as it was one of "3" pistols documented in the new book on Colt 38 Super automatics as being unknown to the collecting community until just recently discovered. We also have several original boxed Colt M1903 General Officers pistols, as issued from WWII and later.

Rock Island Auction Company has also assembled one of the largest selections of U.S. related Military rifles and pistols to include, two early M1907 Savage 45 ACP "Test" pistols, (lot 1863 and lot 3631) that were specifically developed and tested for the early U.S. Ordnance board 1909/1910 pistol trials, that later resulted in the Colt M1911 being adopted by the U.S. Army. This December auction also includes two extremely rare all original, early Vickers & Armstrong Pederson rifles, (lot 1801 & lot 3657) chambered in the scarce .276 Pederson cartridge, which was one of only 200 rifles actually produced and tested against the early M1 Garand rifle in 1927. Lot 1803 is an ultra-rare original WWI era 1918 mark I Remington-Pederson device for the Model 1903 Springfield rifle. Also included in this auction is a fantastic all original, unaltered, early Springfield Model 1903 "Rod Bayonet" rifle serial number "24". This beautiful rifle has all the original early features and still retains its original parts, never having been messed with or altered, truly an extremely rare rifle to find today as it is estimated that way less than 100 even exist today with most examples of this quality being in private collections or museums. This auction also features a grouping of original 1903 Springfield NM type service rifles. This includes two beautiful, early NM examples (lot 1811 and lot 363) produced in 1936 and 1937, that include their original DCM (not CMP) supporting documentation, original Springfield Armory test targets and star-gauge cards. We also have in this auction a beautiful example of a M1903 NM/USMC, M1942 Sniper rifle (lot 3655) that has been fitted with an original WWII Issue USMC marked Unertl Sniper scope. We also have several original M1903 NRA Sales rifles and M1903 NRA Sporting rifles.

We cannot encourage you enough to come and see this spectacular collection and many more this November 30th, December 1st and 2nd.  Our sale contains something for virtually everyone and covers the entire spectrum from antique black powder arms to Class III Items. Our catalog is available online for free, or we can ship you one today, just complete the online order form, call 1-800-238-8022, fax 1-309-797-1655, or e-mail info@rockislandauction.com. We look forward to any inquiries, and hope to see you at the sale!

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