Page 294 - 4091-BOOK2

LOT 1378
Rare U.S Rock Island Arsenal M15 General
Officer Pistol, “GO Model” Marked Prototype, as Photographed in “U.S.
Military Automatic Pistols
1945-2012” by Meadows - Serial no. GOModel, 45 ACP cal., 4 1/4 inch round bbl., nickel finish,
walnut grips. Developed in the 1970s, the Rock Island M15 was conceived in response to a shortage of Colt 1903/1908 pistols in Army inventory for issue to generals as a distinctive sidearm. Working from
stocks of 1911/1911A1 components, Rock Island essentially produced an in-house custom variant of the Colt Combat Commander pistol. The overall markings are consistent with the initial prototype run of the M15, though the serial number reads “GO Model” with no following digit; the original sample submitted for government evaluation was numbered “GO Model 1” (General Officer Model, Serial Number 1), but higher brass was concerned that this might confuse observers
into thinking the number was a model number rather than a serial number, leading to the “Serial No. GO (number)” pattern used during production. This pistol can be seen on page 120 of “U.S. Military Automatic Pistols 1945-2012” by
Edward Scott Meadows, where it is called out as a “M15 Prototype, nickel finish, second type slide markings” and noted as being from the author’s personal collection. Serrated high rise blade front and square notch rear sights, “General Officers Pistol/ Model Rock Island Arsenal” on the slide, sharply checkered frontstrap, serrated and checkered backstrap, checkered hardwood grips with a blank inscription panel on the left and Rock Island “crossed cannons” emblem on the right, hollow spring plug, one-piece recoil spring guide, chrome plated barrel, and an unmarked nickel magazine. CONDITION: Excellent, with 98% plus original nickel plating, showing light scratches on the right side of the slide, some dark spots in the serrations and checkering, and minor handling marks overall. The
grips are excellent, with some flattening of the checkering. Mechanically excellent.
Provenance: The Edward S. Meadows Collection; Property of a Gentleman.
Estimate: 7,500 - 12,000
LOT 1379
Excellent U.S Rock Island Arsenal M15 General Officer Pistol, “Serial No. GO” Marked Prototype, as Seen in “U.S. Military Automatic Pistols 1945-2012” by Meadows - Serial
no. GO, 45 ACP cal., 4 1/4 inch round bbl., blue finish, walnut grips. Developed in the 1970s, the Rock Island M15 was conceived in response to a shortage
of Colt 1903/1908 pistols in Army inventory for issue to generals as a distinctive sidearm. Working from stocks of 1911/1911A1 components, Rock Island essentially produced an
in-house custom variant of the Colt Combat Commander pistol. The overall markings are consistent with general production of the M15, though the serial
number reads “Serial No. GO” with no following digit; the initial prototype used “GO Model 1” as the serial number marking, and after a discussion with higher brass (who
were concerned that “Model X” would be read as a model designation instead of a serial number) the arrangement “Serial No. GO” was used as the prefix for production M15s, the first two issued being “Serial No. GO 1” and “Serial No. GO 2” respectively. This
pistol can be seen on page 121 of “U.S. Military Automatic Pistols 1945-2012” by Edward
Scott Meadows, where it is called out as a “General Officer prototype with third type slide and serial number markings”.
Serrated high rise blade front and square notch rear sights, “General Officer Model/RIA” on the slide, sharply checkered frontstrap, serrated and
checkered backstrap, checkered hardwood grips with a blank inscription panel on the left and Rock Island “crossed cannons” emblem on the right,
serrated spring plug, spring-loaded recoil spring guide, chrome plated barrel, and an unmarked blued magazine.
CONDITION: Excellent, with 98% plus original blue finish, showing some light handling marks overall and minor cycling wear on the underside of the slide and the barrel. The grips are excellent, with crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent.
Provenance: The Edward S. Meadows Collection; Property of a Gentleman.
AS PICTURED AND DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK U.S. MILITARY AUTOMATIC
PISTOLS (1945-2012) BY MEADOWS
292 Estimate: 6,500 - 11,000
DALE HOFFMAN, ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL SMALL ARMS DEPARTMENT, WITH GENERAL OFFICER PISTOL PROTOTYPES