26th President of
the United States,
Theodore Roosevelt’s Colt Automatic Pistol to be Offered at Public Firearms
Auction. December 2011
Rock Island,
Illinois. One of the most
interesting and important personal effects of the celebrated 26th
Presidents of the United States Theodore Roosevelt, known for his animated and
energetic personality, wide variety of interests, a love of the outdoors, will
be auctioned off Saturday December 2nd
by the Rock Island Auction Company.
The item to be sold is a Fully Documented Colt Model 1902
Semi-Automatic Pistol Factory Gold Inlaid with initials “T.R.”. The pistol is
one of a handful of firearms ever to have been presented to a standing U.S.
President. The pistol is accompanied by a factory letter which confirms all
features of this pistol. More importantly though are a pair of letters, the
first of which was discovered in the Library of Congress dated March 4, 1903 and
is a thank you letter from President Roosevelt to Colt President Franklin
Julian Price in which he inquires about what cartridges the pistol fires. The
second letter dated March 5, 1903 comes from the Colt President Mr. Price “I am
glad you like the Colt Automatic. As to the cartridges, the weapon takes either
the .38 caliber Automatic Colt or the .38 Caliber Rimless Smokeless. The pistol
is expected to fetch upwards of $150,000.00
The President was an avid outdoorsmen, and hunter. And among
many other things is considered the father of our National Park system. He was
also known to be a fantastic marksman and from the documentation that
accompanies this pistol it is clear the President had every intention of firing
this pistol. The practice of presenting special firearms to diplomats, and
other high ranking influential people, was originated by Samuel Colt in the
early 1850’s as a means to secure large government contracts.
