Manufactured about 1970, this pistol bears the one line "COLT COMMANDER MODEL" marking on the right side of the slide, with the addition of a hand-engraved "OO/Z" on either side behind the serrations and "COLT", "FLAG OFFICERS PISTOL/M1969 - CAL 9MM" on the left side. An included factory letter dated March 28, 1974 from company historian M.S. Huber verifies the caliber and finish as well as the engraved markings, lists the buyer as Duane J. Small (National Sales Manager of the Colt Industries Firearms Division), to be shipped to "Irv's Gun Shop" of Inkster, Michigan, on March 1, 1974, with the note "A one-of-a-kind prototype intended for presentation to Admiral Zumult(sic), U.S.N." No record of an "Admiral Zumult" can be found, but "Zumult" is a common misspelling of Zumwalt, suggesting that this pistol may have been for U.S. Navy Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Junior. A World War II veteran, Zumwalt was the Commander of Naval Forces in Vietnam and Chief of the Naval Advisory Group for U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam before being promoted to Chief of Naval Operations in 1970. Zumwalt retired from the Navy on July 1, 1974; the pistol could have been meant as a retirement gift. As far as the prototype status of the firearm, the nomenclature suggests it as a contemporary of the 1969 Officers Pistol, which was a Commander variant proposed as a replacement for the 1903/1908 General Officer Pistol (which would be passed up for Rock Island Arsenal's M15). In "U.S. Military Automatic Pistols, 1945-2012," Edward Meadows observed two examples of Colt 9mm 1969 Officers Pistols (serial numbers 70BS1073 and 70BS1298) that were part of a five gun shipment delivered to Colt's Military Marketing Department on January 14, 1971. See page 114. This pistol, serial number 70BS1060, is in close proximity to the serial numbers noted in Meadows' study. Of note on the letter is the use of the Combat Commander nomenclature; this pistol would have been produced very shortly before the introduction of the Combat and Lightweight names to distinguish the steel and alloy framed variants of the Commander.

Excellent, with 98% plus original blue finish, showing some minor edge wear and handling marks. The grips are excellent, with a few minor dark spots and dings on the otherwise crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent. A very scarce documented Colt prototype pistol.