Home Login Sign Up My Account Browse Links Logout How to Consign   Ward's Bid Sheet   Rules

Winning Bid US $6000 First bid $3000 Quantity 1 # of bids 7 Time left Auction has ended   Started 2025-07-28 00:00:00 Ended 2025-11-21 22:35:25

RARE CASED Full set of six serially matching World War commemorative Colt Government Model 1911 and 1911A1 pistols. These guns have high luster blued and nickeled finishes, they commemorate major battles in which the US participated during World War I and the two theaters of operation in WWII. 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 incredibly rare. According to Rock Island Auctions only 7,400 WWI sets were made with only 75 matching WWI & WWII sets being produced.



The WWI 1911's all have a blued finish and wood grips holding custom medallions. The medallion on the right grip panels have a depiction of a soldier with a rifle standing atop a hill with markings reading ''U.S.A.'' above the soldier with ''France Italy Serbia Japan Montenegro Russia Greece Great Britain Belgium Brazil Portugal Rumania (sic) China'' on either side, and a banner reading ''The Great War For Civilization'' below. The left grip panels have a medallion with an eagle with ''1917-1918'' marked above and ''World War'' below. There are small straight placards below the medallions on the left grip panels that mark the names of the battles the guns commemorate.



''Colt .45 Auto'' is engraved on the tops of the barrels. All the engravings on the slides and frames are filled with a gold toned finish. The right sides of the frames are engraved with the serial numbers. The right sides of the slides are engraved with banners reading ''1917 World War I Commemorative 1967'', underneath the banners there is text that reads ''Colt's PT. F. A. MFG. Co. Hartford Conn. U.S.A.''. Each WWI 1911 is engraved with a battle scene on the left side of the slide that matches its case. There is also a Rampant Colt behind the slide serrations on each gun. These pistols are all in excellent or near excellent condition.



The WWI 1911's are mounted via brass hardware in light brown painted wood presentation cases with clear plexiglass windows. There are two particleboard segments set in grooves in each of the cases. Each case has a segment backing the pistol with a depiction similar to the engraving on the slide of that pistol as well as some text about the conflict commemorated by the pistol. The second particleboard segment is set in the back of each case, it is marked on both sides. One side has a sizable chunk of text about the conflict commemorated by the pistol, the other side has a map of the area where the conflict took place. The cases are all in good condition with some chips and scuffs in the paint and some small chips in the wood.



The WWII 1911 A1 pistols have wood grips with Colt medallions. They are nickeled and engraved. The engravings on the European Theatre 1911 A1 are as follows: ''Colt .45 Auto'' is engraved on the top of the barrel. The right side of the frame is engraved with the serial number, a Rampart Colt, and text reading ''Colt's PT. F. A. MFG. Co. Hartford Conn. U.S.A.''. The right side of the slide has engravings reading ''North Atlantic, Tunisia, Sicily, Ploesti, Salerno, Anzio, Normandy, Bastogne, Remagen, Berlin''. The left side of the slide has engravings that read ''World War II Commemorative European Theatre of Operations''. There are floral engravings on both the left and right side of the slide.



The engravings on the Pacific Theatre 1911 A1 are as follows: ''Colt .45 Auto'' is engraved on the top of the barrel. The right side of the frame is engraved with the serial number. The left side is engraved with a Rampant Colt, and text reading ''Colt's PT. F. A. MFG. Co. Hartford Conn. U.S.A.''. The left side of the slide has engravings reading ''Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea, Corregidor, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Spain, Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Tokyo''. The right side of the slide has engravings that read ''World War II Commemorative Pacific Theatre of Operations''. There are floral engravings on both the left and right side of the slide.



The WWII 1911 A1's come in wood presentation cases with felt lined drawers each containing a pistol, a metal placard, and seven silver colored 45 ACP inert rounds. There is a hinged lid over a plexiglass panel through which you can see the contents of the drawer. The drawers are lockable, the locking mechanism seems to work well. The set comes with a key.



The European Theatre 1911 A1 case appears to be oak, the inside of the lid has a print of a picture of the German surrender at Reims, May 7, 1945 with a more extensive list of battles underneath. The case is in excellent condition with minimal wear.



The Pacific Theatre 1911 A1 wood presentation case has what appears to be a bamboo mat lid with a faux bamboo border. The inside of the lid has a print of a picture of Japanese surrender at Tokyo Bay, September 2, 1945 with a more extensive list of battles underneath. The case is in very good condition with some wear, and small scratches and chips.



There are write ups of each individual gun and case, however due to size constraints we could not include them in the website entry. If you need further information on the set or any of the individual guns/cases feel free to inquire. Sold as a set only. FFL or C&R Req. - Value: 6000 to 9000

(Move around the image by clicking and dragging. Zoom with your scroll wheel)

Payment Details See Payment Instructions and item description, or contact seller for more information.

Payment Instructions See item description or contact seller for more information.

Price

RARE CASED Full set of six serially matching World War commemora... Item # 4648 This auction is over. No new bids can be placed. Price: US $6000

How to Pay If you would like to expedite your payment, please send us an email or give us a call informing us that you would like your invoice emailed to you. If we do not hear from you one of two things will happen: A.) If you signed up and asked us to bill your credit card & ship all items ASAP then that is what we will do. No further notice will be sent. B.) If you signed up and wanted to send us a check, then your invoice will be mailed to you after we figure the shipping. (Please note: If you want to speed this up just send us an email after the auction)

Return to Home Page