Colt Commercial Model ACE .22 LR Semi Automatic Pistol, 1931 1st Year MFG, C&R

LSB#: 140604NW52 
Make: Colt 
Model: Commercial ACE 
Serial Number: 2669 
Year of Manufacture: 1931 (Proof House) 
Caliber: .22 Long Rifle 
Action Type: Single Action, Semi-Automatic with Exposed Hammer and Removable Magazine 
Markings: The right side of slide is marked “Colt”, “ACE” inside a diamond, “.22”, and “Long / Rifle”. The right side of the frame is marked “2669”. The right front of the trigger guard is marked “20” and the left front with the Verified Proof and “3”. The left side of the slide is marked “Colt’s PT. FA. Mfg. Co. Hartford, CT. U.S.A. / PAT’D Apr.20,1897.Sept.9,1902.Dec.19,1905.Feb.14,1911.Aug.19,1913.” and at the rear with a Rampant Colt logo. The flat on the underside rear of the slide is marked “G”. 
Barrel Length: 4 ¾” 
Sights / Optics: This pistol is mounted with a flat topped square notch rear sight that is pinned to the slide and adjustable for windage and elevation. The front sight is a serrated and ramped blade fixed to the slide. 
Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are checkered brown walnut. The checkering on the left grip shows moderate wear with heavy wear at the top. The checkering on the right grip shows heavy wear, with the checkering worn off completely at the top, the middle and the bottom. The grips rate in about Good overall condition. 
Type of Finish: The pistol has a bright blue finish. The mainspring housing and the trigger are checkered. 
Finish Originality: All Original 
Bore Condition: The bore is bright and the rifling is sharp but shallow as is typical of rimfires. There is no erosion, but there are a few minor marks in the barrel, probably from a cleaning rod. 
Overall Condition: This pistol retains about 50% of its metal finish. The finish shows surface loss on the front strap and grip safety, with thinning, light handling marks and surface frosting on the slide and frame. The checkering on the slide release and magazine release are sharp. There is slight wear at the back of the hammer checkering and on the very edge of the safety checkering. The mainspring housing checkering shows light wear with surface loss on the tips. The trigger checkering shows light to moderate wear. The grip screws and rear sight screws are sharp but show marks of a screwdriver. The markings are clear. Overall, this pistol rates in about Very Good condition. 
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The trigger breaks crisply at about 3 lbs. and the slide is tight to the frame. This pistol does NOT have the floating chamber used on the Service Ace. It has a manual safety as well as a grip safety and the hammer has a half-cock notch. We have not fired this pistol. 
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: . There is one magazine provided with this pistol. It is marked on the floorplate with “Colt”, “ACE” in a diamond and “22 L.R.” The magazine has a two tone finish – the bottom half is blued and the top half is in-the-white. The magazine shows light wear and a few spots of light pinprick surface erosion. The floorplate shows thinning and light surface frosting. The magazine is in about Fine condition. 
Our Assessment: This is a Colt Ace semi-auto pistol designed to shoot .22 Long Rifle ammunition. This is a great pistol with many of the features of the National Match 1911: adjustable sights, nice trigger pull, match barrel and checkered mainspring housing for a firm grip. It was designed so that you could target practice with nearly the same sized frame as that used by your .45 Auto. With the cost of ammunition today, this makes even more sense than it did way back in 1931, when this model first came on the market, and the year in which this pistol was first sold. This pistol is in about Very Good condition with about 50% of its finish remaining. The remainder shows surface loss, thinning and light surface frosting. The pistol has a slide that is tight to the frame, a crisp trigger and a bright bore. There were less than 11,000 of this model made, and Colt collectors should have a great interest, especially since this pistol was sold the first year they were produced. If it gets by the collectors, it will make some bullseye shooter a great pistol for inexpensive target practice.