SOLD - Minty, Extremely Rare Ithaca M1911A1 - Special Presentation Pistol

Description

This is an extremely rare M1911-A1 Special Presentation Pistol made by Ithaca from remaining military stock immediately after WWII production ended. From “U. S. Military Automatic Pistols, Vol. II” by Edward Meadows, there were 50 M1911-A1 pistols made for Ithaca Gun Company officials, for members of the Army Ordnance Division and other luminaries numbered I.G 1-50, with another three numbered XP1, XP2 and EXP3. The right side of the frame is marked “I.G.-7”. There is an extremely faint “PROPERTY” marked just above the serial number, indicating the frame was intended for the Army before converted to a commercial model. The pistol has a bright blued finish with reddish brown checkered plastic grips. The barrel is from High Standard and the magazine from Risdon Mfg. Co., both of which are correct for a WWII Ithaca pistol. Interestingly, examination of known examples of these 1911-A1s (#’s 7,18, 23, 29, 31,32,43 and 50) shows the exact manner these pistols were numbered varies. All have capital “IG” and a number (1 thru 50) present, but the exact punctuation used varies among the guns. Examples include I.G.-#, I.G. # and IG # . Most examples are missing the United States Property and M 1911 A1 U.S. Army on the right side of the frame (likely sanded or machined off as is evident on this gun), but some ( #’s 23 and 50) were fully blued leaving the military markings intact.