IN 92+% ORIGINAL CONDITION AND 100% FACTORY ORIGINAL FINISH AS WELL, WE HAVE AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE EXAMPLE OF THE HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER COLT MODEL OF 1911 U.S. NAVY SERVICE PISTOL,WITH THE VERY EARLY SERIAL NUMBER OF 561. THIS PISTOL WAS SHIPPED TO THE BROOKLYN NAVAL YARD ON MARCH 9, 1912 IN THE VERY FIRST SHIPMENT OF THE NEW PISTOL TO THE NAVY. IT IS IN FACT THE 60th 1911 THAT WAS SHIPPED TO THE NAVY BY SERIAL NUMBER. VERY LIKELY THIS PISTOL WAS ISSUED TO ONE OF THE SHIPS IN SERVICE OR BEING BUILT AT THE YARD. THIS PISTOL HAS ALL THE CORRECT EARLY FEATURES SUCH AS THE SIDEWAY H PROOFED BARREL AND THE PLUNGER MAGAZINE RELIEF. THE KEYHOLE MAGAZINE IS FROM A SLIGHTLY LATER PERIOD THAN THE PISTOL.
THESE U.S. NAVY MARKED COLT 1911 PISTOLS ARE THE MOST HIGHLY SOUGHT OF THE WWI ERA GOVERNMENT MODEL PISTOLS. THEY ARE EXTREMELY RARE BECAUSE SO FEW WERE EVER MANUFACTURED AND MOST OF THEM ARE SITTING ON THE BOTTOM OF THE PACIFIC. THERE ARE PROBABLY MORE ON THE BOTTOM OF PEARL HARBOR THAN ANY WHERE IN THE WORLD. THESE PISTOLS IN ANY ORIGINAL CONDITION ARE AGGRESSIVELY SOUGHT AFTER BY COLLECTORS, AND THIS IS A RARE CHANCE TO GET ONE OF THE MORE INTERESTING AND DESIRABLE REMAINING EXAMPLES THAT IS STILL IN VERY DECENT SHAPE. THIS IS ALSO RARE OPPORTUNITY TO GET A VERY, VERY EARLY SERIAL NUMBER COLT 1911.
