Set of 6 Serial-Number Matching WWI and WWII Commemorative 1911 & 1911A1 Pistols, Cases, & Book, MFD 1967-1970 C&R

SOLD FOR $7,975

LSB#: 180105PS02, 180105PS03, 180105PS04, 180105PS05, 180105PS06, 180105PS07

Make: Colt

Model: WWI Commemorative Series 1911 Pistols – 01: Chateau Thierry, 02: Belleau Wood, 03: 2nd Battle of the Marne, 04: Meuse Argonne

WWII Commemorative Series 1911A1 Pistols – 05: European-African Middle Eastern Theater, 06: Asia-Pacific Theater

Serial Number: 01: 5377-CT, 02: 5377-BW, 03: 5377-M2, 04: 5377-MA, 05: 5377ETO, 06: 5377PTO

Year of Manufacture: 1967, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970 (Listed on the ATF C&R Roster)

Caliber: .45 ACP

Action Type: Single Action Semi-Automatic Pistols with Removable Magazines

Markings: All the markings on the WWI pistols are gold filled. The right side of the slide on all four pistols is marked with a banner reading “1917 / World War I Commemorative / 1967” and “Colt’s PT.F.A. Mfg. Co. Hartford, Conn. U.S.A.” The barrels are marked “Colt .45 Auto”, and the right side of the frame with their serial number.
01: The left side of the slide is engraved with a battle scene of a machine gun crew with a town in the background and at the rear with the Rampant Colt logo.
02: The left side of the slide is engraved with scene in the woods and at the rear with the Rampant Colt logo.
03: The left side of the slide is engraved with a scene involving American soldiers firing at German soldiers across a creek and at the rear with the Rampant Colt logo.
04: The left side of the slide is engraved with a scene of American soldiers attacking Germans barricaded behind pill boxes and at the rear with the Rampant Colt logo.

The WWII Pistols each have their serial numbers marked on the right side of the frame. The ETO pistol has on the right side of its dust cover “COLT’S PT. F.A. MFG. CO. / HARTFORD, CONN. U.S.A.” with a rampant colt behind while this marking is on the left side of the dust cover for the PTO pistol.
05: The left side of the slide is engraved with “WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATIVE / EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS” bordered with oak leaves and with oak leaves at the rear of the slide. The right side of the slide is engraved with “NORTH ATLANTIC . TUNISIA . SICILY / PLOESTI . SALERNO . ANZIO . NORMANDY . BASTOGNE . REMAGEN . BERLIN” bordered with oak leaves and with oak leaves at the rear of the slide.
06: The left side of the slide is engraved with “PEARL HARBOR . CORAL SEA . CORREGIDOR . GUADALCANAL . TARAWA . SAIPAN . LEYTE GULF . IWO JIMA . OKINAWA . TOKYO” bordered with palm leaves and with palm leaves at the rear of the slide. The right side of the slide is engraved with “WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATIVE / PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS” bordered with palm leaves and with palm leaves at the rear of the slide.

Barrel Length: 5”

Sights / Optics: The front sights are short blades fixed to the slide and the rear sights are square notched and dovetailed into the slide.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The left grip on each WWI pistol has a medallion of an American eagle marked “1917*1918 / World War”. The right grip is marked with a medallion of an American soldier, and marked “U.S.A. / The Great War For Civilization” and with the names of our allies.
01: This pistol has a rectangular plaque on the left grip marked “Chateau Thierry”. The grips are checkered walnut and have no visible wear or damage.
02: This pistol has a rectangular plaque on the left grip marked “Belleau Wood”. The grips are smooth walnut and have no visible wear or damage.
03: This pistol has a rectangular plaque on the left grip marked “2nd Battle Of The Marne”. The grips appear to be a smooth light colored wood and have no visible wear or damage.
04: This pistol has a rectangular plaque on the left grip marked “Meuse Argonne”. The grips are smooth burl walnut and have no visible wear or damage.
All of the grips are in Excellent condition.

The World War II pistols have gold Colt medallions on each scale.
05: The grips are a smooth, blonde hardwood and have no visible wear or damage.
06: The grips are smooth walnut and have no visible wear or damage.
All of the grips are in Excellent condition.

Type of Finish: This WWI pistols have a highly polished blue finish. The WWII pistols have a highly polished nickel finish.

Finish Originality: All Original

Bore Condition: The bores are bright and the rifling sharp. There is no erosion. These pistols do not appear to have been shot outside the factory.

Overall Condition: All pistols retain about 99+% of their metal finish, and all have sharp grip screws with clear markings. All have no visible wear or damage. All rate in Excellent condition.

Mechanics: The actions function correctly. All have grip and frame mounted safeties. We did not fire these pistols.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: Each pistol comes with one finish-matching 7-round magazine with no wear and in Excellent condition.

Each WWI pistol is mounted in a brown painted wood presentation case with clear Plexiglas windows which allows viewing of the pistol when displayed, and a cardboard window that can be used to hide the pistol from view. The cardboard windows have a white finish showing a map of the area where the battle was fought and marked with the name of the battle and the dates it was fought.
01: The front left and right faces of the case have wear spots at the top and the front left face has wear at the bottom. The top face of the box has a long and several short drag lines. The rear face of the case has a mark where the right (facing the gun) wall hanging bracket was and has been relocated down approximately 1″. One of the felt cornerpieces is missing in the top right corner (facing the gun). The bottom face has a couple of light marks. The left and right faces have little to no marks. The plexiglass window has a couple of light, scattered marks. The cardboard windows are in Excellent condition. The box is in overall Good condition.
02: The front left and right faces of the case have wear spots at the top. The top face of the box has a crack starting in the front and extending over the edge to the top face where it splits into a v-shaped crack extending approximately halfway through the top face and chips out of its left and right edges. There are three light scratches on the right side of the top face. The bottom face has some dark discoloration at the left and right edges. The rear face is missing its bottom two felt pieces and has wear surrounding its wall-mount brackets but is otherwise free of marks. The plexiglass window has a couple of light, scattered marks. The cardboard windows are in Excellent condition. The box is in overall Fair condition.
03: The front left and right faces of the case have wear spots at the top. The top, left and right faces of the box have no notable wear or damage. The bottom face of the box has dark discoloration at the left edge. The rear face of the box is missing its top left felt piece and has wear around its left wall-mount bracket. The plexiglass window has a couple of light, scattered marks. The cardboard windows are in Excellent condition. The box is in overall Very Good condition.
04: The front left and right faces of the case have wear spots at the top. The top face of the box has a couple of light, scattered marks. The left and right faces of the box have no notable wear or damage. The bottom face of the box has minor dark discoloration at the left and right edges. The rear face of the box has all of its felt pieces and minor wear around its wall-mount brackets. The plexiglass window has one long mark on the left side. The cardboard windows are in Excellent condition. The box is in overall Very Good condition.

Each WWII is mounted in a hinge-top wooden presentation case with a plexiglass window over a felt-lined drawer containing the pistol and seven rounds of silver .45 ACP and a silver key for the case.
05: The case is made from oak with a print on the inside of the lid of a picture of the German surrender at Reims, May 7, 1945 with a more extensive list of battles underneath. Inset to the felt is a silver plaque reading “WORLD WAR II / COMMEMORATIVE / European – African / Middle Eastern Theater / DECEMBER 11, 1941 – May 7, 1945” bordered in oak leaves. The top of the case has scratches at the top left corner, the top right corner, and along the left flat edge. All sides and the bottom of the case have no notable damage. The case is in overall Very Good condition.
06: The case is made from bamboo or a very good imitation with bamboo-like bordering on the top and bamboo mat on the top face with a print on the inside of the lid of a picture of the Japanese surrender at Tokyo Bay, September 2, 1945 with a more extensive list of battles underneath. Inset to the felt is a silver plaque reading “WORLD WAR II / COMMEMORATIVE / Asiatic – Pacific Theater / DECEMBER 7, 1941 – SEPTEMBER 2, 1945” bordered in oak leaves. There is some light wear around the bamboo border on the top of the case with no other notable damage. The case is in overall Fine condition.

Also included is a copy of “Colt’s Commemorative Edition of The American Heritage Picture History of World War II” by C. L. Sulzberger. The cover has wear at the edges and some light fraying at the top and bottom edge on the spine. The book is in overall Good condition.

Our Assessment: These pistols are beautiful Colt Government Model 1911 and 1911A1 pistols with high luster blued and nickel finishes and with gold filled engraving on the WWI pistols. The WWI pistols also have custom grips with WWI medallions and the name of the battle that particular pistol commemorates. The pistols are in Excellent condition and appear unused outside of the factory, with very minor handling marks. They commemorate the four major battles our soldiers fought in World War I, the “War To End All Wars” and the two theaters of operation in WWII. The pistols come with wooden display cases. This is an extremely rare set. Many sets of serial matching WWI pistols exist as do matching sets of WWII pistols. WWII sets serial matched to a WWI set were only offered to those who originally purchased the WWI sets and were only made for those who accepted the offer. To find a set with all six pistols, serial matching, is not something you come across every day, week, month, year, or even decade. For the Colt 1911 collector, maybe even any Colt collector, there is likely no rival commemorative set and for a militaria collector, there is little in the way of commemorative firearms which would compete. Not content with just the pistols and display cases, the included book will make a great addition to their display as well as a wonderful and extensive resource about the contribution America made to World War II. These are an amazing tribute to the contribution America has made to keep the world free. Please take a look at our photos of these wonderful pistols and good luck!