Manufactured in early 1942, not long after the U.S. was thrust into World War II in December 1941. The included factory letter confirms the pistol's configuration with a five inch barrel chambered for .22 caliber and grips not listed when sold to the U.S. Government as a part of factory order No. 9966 and sent in a shipment of 53 pistols to the U.S. Springfield Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts, on February 16, 1942. Features fixed blade front and adjustable notch rear sights, long grip safety, checkered slide stop, thumb safety, wide spur hammer, short milled trigger, and arched mainspring housing without a lanyard loop. The left side of the slide bears the two-line Colt address and patent numbers with the Rampant Colt at the rear, along with the model and caliber nomenclature on the right side. The left side frame bears a boxed "W.B." (Col. Waldemar S. Broberg) inspection mark, with "T" and "triangle/VP" marked on the trigger guard, while the right side bear the serial number with "60" on that side of the trigger guard. Fitted with a pair of checkered walnut grips and a two-tone magazine with Colt Ace markings on the base. Provenance: The Charles Marx Collection

Excellent, retaining 95% plus original blue finish with some minor edge wear, some thinning with grey patina on the mainspring housing, light scrapes and scratches visible on the front strap, and minor handling marks. The grips are very fine with light compression marks in the otherwise defined checkering. Mechanically excellent.