1938 Colt M1911A1 #1

Hi,

I was talking about this pistol with some friends down at SoS, I didn't realize some people here are also interested in 1911's. It has already been posted on 1911forum, but here it is again for my friends who don't go over there;

Acccording to Clawson the first pistol marked 'M1911A1 U.S. ARMY' was serial number 712350. The pistol shown below is serial numbered 712350, also the first pistol manufactured in 1938.

This pistol was found in a local collection with the help of a friend here in Ottawa. When purchasing the pistol I would like to thank Johnny Peppers for his patience and expertise helping me with authentication.

The pistol is all original. All comments are welcome!















Cheers,
-Steve

wow... Probably the nicest thing I have seen posted in some time... I could only imagine what that pistol would sell for at auction. Talk about a grail for the 1911 collector.
Count your lucky stars you found that one..

Now that's one to have! Those pre war a1's are tough. Love the blues ones, my dulite is the only one I've managed to hang on to

All I can say is wow! Beautiful.

I saw it on the 1911 forum USGI. It is amazing.

For those who do not know, it is one of the hardest to find M1911s or A1s. Many collectors I know have a Singer, one of 500, but very few have a 1938, one of 1296. On the US market, it is probably a $30K or more pistol. Who knows, they rarely sale. I have been lucky to see 3 but could not afford the only one I saw for sale, which looked very professionally restored. It was spooky. With only 34,500 Blue 1911A1 Colts made between 1924 and 1941, they are very sought after and quite expensive.

Johnny Peppers is my go to guy. His knowledge is quite possibly the best available since Chuck Clawson is quite old and winding down his involvement and memory reported to be fading( I can relate to that).

Thanks for posting. Hopefully I have helped those know exactly how great a possession this gem is.

Steve, that is AWESOME. High condition too. NO telling how many good USGI guns are floating around Canadia.

Looks like an Eh block pistol!

Wow, that truly is a stunning pistol.

Thanks for your comments guys, I'm glad you enjoyed the photos.

Cheers,
-Steve

Ooops double post!

You've emailed me pics of this one before but it's nice to look it over again. Really an outstanding piece Steve.