The pistol is dated 1972 and the slide is numbered to the gun. The XE serial number prefix indicates this pistol was produced on the separate Makarov production line reserved for special and presentation pistols. Fitted with a wraparound checkered grip. The top left side of the grip has an inscription plaque: "CORONEL E.P./CARLOS DIEZ CANSECO/COMDT. FIDEL CASTRO/25-4-73." At the time of writing this description, the writer could not find a historical record pertaining to the presentation inscription nor could information be found in regards to a Colonel E.P. Carlos Diez Canseco, but the inscription is definitely period and was reserved for a Cuban military officer held in high esteem. Additional research should reveal further interesting history. A Cuban communist revolutionary and politician, Fidel Castro served as the Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and then President from 1976 to 2008 and served as the Commander in Chief of the Cuban armed forces from 1959 to 2008. Early in his rise to political domination of Cuba, Castro allied his country with the USSR, which was seen as a threat to the United States. The U.S. governments of Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy unsuccessfully attempted to remove him from power by means of economic blockade, assassination and counter revolution. As a reaction to countering U.S. intervention, Castro allowed the USSR to install nuclear missiles on the island, which resulted in the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The holster is dated 1972 and there are a total of two magazines and a lanyard. With a presentation wooden case featuring contrasting wood panels on the bottom and top and a Russian birchwood storage box for the case.

Excellent. The pistol retains 98% original blue finish showing some light thinning on the front grip strap and limited high edge wear. The grip is also excellent with crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent. The case and holster are excellent. A true historical record of one of the most influential/successful dictators of the 20th Century!