SOLD - Rare Colt M1903 Pocket Hammerless Rig - Japanese Yokohama Specie Bank

Description

4/8/26 - This is a nice example of a Colt Model 1903, manufactured in 1939 and chambered in .32 ACP. This one is particularly fascinating because according to the included Colt Factory Letter, it was sold to Yokohama Specie Bank Ltd in Tokyo, Japan and shipped on January 3, 1939 in a shipment of 5,000 guns. Yokohama Specie was integral to Japanese foreign commerce and served as paymaster for the Imperial Japanese Army. January 3, 1939 must have been a busy day for shipping guns at Colt, as there are many other examples of large shipments that day. The quantity of pistols makes it unlikely that they were intended for the bank itself, so it is quite likely that these pistols were purchased with the intent to sell them to Japanese officers and perhaps on the domestic Japanese market as well. It is quite interesting to note that a Colt 1903 was the pistol Hideki Tojo, Prime Minister, Minister of War and Chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff during WWII, used in a failed suicide attempt as American soldiers surrounded his home to arrest him for war crimes. Tojo’s pistol was serial 535330. This one is matching and has retained roughly 85% of its original high polish bluing. The majority of the finish loss is on the grip straps, where there is also some light spotty oxidation. There is also general high edge wear and some light surface scratches on the slide. Fitted with excellent period-correct wood grips. It comes with one proper magazine and a 1945-dated Carl Kuntze tan leather shoulder holster. The bore has good rifling with just a hint of frosting throughout.