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LOT 166
Identified U.S. Rifle Team Member
and Naval Officer Shipped First
Generation Colt Single Action Army
.45 ACP Revolver with Factory Letter
- Serial no. 354585, 45 ACP cal., 4 3/4 inch
round bbl., blue/casehardened finish,
hard rubber grips. This fine example of
the legendary Peacemaker is chambered
in the rare .45 ACP caliber. The revolver is
made even rarer and more desirable by being
shipped to U.S. Rifle Team member Lieutenant
C.E. Coffin. It is rare to encounter a Single Action
Army revolver shipped to an individual, especially
someone with a distinguished military career such as Lt. Coffin. The factory letter states the revolver was shipped to Lt.
C.E. Coffin, U.S. Rifle Team (address not available) on August 3, 1931 and confirms the 4 3/4 inch barrel, .45 ACP chambering, and
blue finish and the type of stocks not listed. Clarence Emmett Coffin, Jr. (1906-?) was a U.S. Navy officer with pre-war Asiatic experience
who later served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1923 and was a member of the
Academy’s rifle team. He won the gold medal in the Individual Rifle Match in 1926 and a year later was captain of the Small Bore Rifle Team.
Duty with rifle and pistols teams continued throughout the early years of his Naval career. In the same year this Single Action Army revolver
was shipped to him (1931), Coffin was awarded a silver medal in the National Individual Pistol Match and was designated U.S. Distinguished
Marksman. He remained with the Naval Academy for a short course in aviation following his graduation in 1927. Afterwards
he joined the USS Arizona until May 1929. From October 1929 to May 1931 he served on the USS Nevada and reported to
the USS Heron operating in the Asiatic Area in November 1931. In the mid to late 1930s he joined the Yangtze Patrol Force and
other operations supporting American interests in China. From December to May 1942 he served as the senior assistant engineer
and fought gallantly against Japanese forces which entitled him to a ribbon for the Navy Unit Commendation. In June 1942 he reported for
duty aboard the cruiser USS Raleigh as navigator and participated in the Attu Occupation and the bombardment of Musashi Wan-Kurabu Zaki.
In the spring of that year he received training at the Amphibious Training Command and assumed command of LCI (R) Rocket Flotilla Sixteen.
For the amphibious assaults on Iwo Jima and Okinawa, he was awarded the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star with Combat “V.” After the war
Coffin held several positions related to protecting America interests in Asia.
Based on research presented by author David Brown in “The 36 Calibers of the Colt Single Action Army,” Colt manufactured only 44 First
Generation Single Action Army revolvers in .45 ACP. This chambering was first made available after World War I in 1924 on a special order basis.
Per Brown, “Almost all made after 1924 were shipped to men in some branch of the Armed Forces. They could get all of the .45 Auto ammo
they wanted but part of them wanted to shoot the Colt Single Action Army instead of a Colt Automatic so they would order the Colt SAA
made up in the .45 ACP.” This U.S. Rifle Team shipped Single Action Army revolver proves Brown correct. We have previously sold only a limited
number of .45 ACP First Generation revolvers. The revolver sports a most unusual feature: a FitzGerald style trigger guard. Having the front
removed from the trigger guard allowed for quicker trigger pull. Although the trigger guard is numbered to the gun and the modification
displays a highly quality level of work, this feature was not done at the Colt factory. The back strap is also numbered to the gun. The barrel has
the two-line address on top and “COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY .45” on the left side. The left side of the frame carries the two-line patent dates
marking and a Rampant Colt. The hard rubber grips are checkered and feature a Rampant Colt at the top of both panels.
CONDITION: Fine, retaining 80% original blue on the cylinder and barrel, most of the refinished blue remaining on backstrap and triggerguard,
and 75% faded original case colors with muzzle and high edge wear, cylinder drag lines, and touch up at the trigger guard cut out. The
oversized replacement grips are very good with mostly crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent. A rare .45 ACP Colt Single Action Army
revolver shipped to an identified U.S. Naval officer that would look great in any Colt or U.S. military collection.
Provenance: Lt. Clarence Emmett Coffin, Jr., U.S. Navy; The Charles Marx Collection.
Estimate: 6,000 - 10,000
Collector’s Fact
According to "The 36 Calibers of the Colt
Single Action Army" by David Brown,
only 44 Colt Single Action Revolvers were
produced in .45 ACP, and per the author,
"almost all made after 1924 were shipped to
men in some branch of the Armed Forces".
Lieutenant
C.E. Coffin