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LOT 3378
Extremely Rare North American Arms Co. Model 1911 Presentation Semi-Automatic Pistol - Serial no. 444, 45 ACP cal.,
5 inch round bbl., blue finish, walnut grips. This is an exceptionally fine example of the rare and iconic North American Arms
Co. Model 1911 presentation type pistol, that was produced around the end of World War I in 1918 in Quebec, Canada. In early
July 1918, the U.S. Government issued a contract for 500,000 Model 1911 pistols to the North American Arms Co., previously the
Dominion (Ross) Rifle Plant. The company leased the plant for manufacturing and as part of the contract, the U.S. Government
was to supply all of the raw materials necessary for production. However, due to material shortages during the war and the
time it took the plant to get tooled up for production, the government was only able to supply enough material to produce
approximately 100 sets of initial start-up or prototype parts. Due to the armistice of November 1918, the contract was canceled
in December of 1918 with no examples of completed pistols ever being accepted by the U.S. Government. As part of the
contract termination settlement, the U.S. Ordnance Board did eventually accept/reclaim a large portion of the manufactured and
completed parts and assemblies, most of which were later disposed of. Some however, were later assembled into completed
pistols. These pistols are typically seen numbered in 1-100 range, although there are a handful of noted examples with three or
four digit serial numbers using the same number such as this one with serial number 444. Page 220 of “U.S. Military Automatic
Pistols 1894-1920” by Meadows pictures another example numbered 1111 and also mentions North American Arms Co. guns
seen with serial numbers 111 and 222, with the reasoning behind their numbering mentioned as unknown. Rock Island Auction
Company previously sold serial number 555. These uniquely serialized pistols were likely presented to both U.S. Army and North
American Arms Company officials as gifts. The pistols were stamped with a controlling serial number in two locations, the left
lower area of the frame under the grip panel, and the left upper rear corner of the slide, with this example numbered “444”.