US Property Colt 1903

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I have a US Property marked Colt 1903 I am trying to document. During my internet search I found that a previous owner attempted the same research to no avail. That said I ordered and received a Colt letter. There was talk that the 1903 might have been issued to someone in Camp X but the letter does not confirm that.

To my knowledge it is rare to have these in Canada so I am curious as to how it got here and who it may have been issued to.

Any help would be appreciated!


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I don't believe the pistols themselves are especially rare in Canada. What is rare is the documentation

I had the opportunity to dig through several thousand such pistols that were brought into International back in the early seventies. They ranged from junk, to fair, to good, very good, excellent, to a few hundred that were new in the wrap, in individual pressed paper boxes. with their serial numbers across the tops. They were all identical to your pistol, in construction and markings.

I believe the pistols I saw all came out of South East Asia. I don't remember much about where they came from.

I was with Alan Lever, on a buying trip, that extended from Vancouver, to Montreal, to Mexico and back to Vancouver.

Alan purchased almost all of the pistols that were new in the wrap/boxes and several hundred that were VG+ to Excellent. I had one of the NIW pistols but my ex wife got it in the settlement. I have no idea what happened to it after that.

I used mine quite a bit and found it to be decently accurate out to 10 yards or so.
 
I read an article by Mike Venturino saying that the 1903 and 1908 pistols were often issued to US officers when they were promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. The newly-minted BG had a choice between the smaller 1903/1908 pistols or a 1911/1911A1.

He also says that a great many new BG's chose the smaller and lighter 1903/1908 pistols instead of the big heavy 1911's. Seeing as how their job didn't involve actual combat or getting to close to the front lines (with some notable exceptions such as BG Teddy Roosevelt Jr and LTG George Patton) they really don't need to pack around the 1911 and its holster. Venturino says he's seen plenty of 1903/1908 pistols traceable to a General, but has never heard of a 1911 being traced to a General.
 
There was also a lot of them that were Australian Ex Bank guns that Allen Lever brought in and marked as such
 
Thanks for the information. I concur that the majority of the 1903's probably went to officers, the .32 was and is more of a decorative caliber and not much use on the battlefield. I consider a US Property marked 1903 rare as I specifically collect pre 1946 and I have never seen another in Canada, I have seen all kinds of markings from police to railway but not another US Property. Obviously they are out there but not in big numbers. Interesting that you can legally import Colt 1903's into the US but not US Property Marked, I just got a refresher on that. I did more follow up on Camp X and it makes no sense as it appeared to be a British / Canadian camp, not US.
 
The “U.S. PROPERTY” was a Lend Lease marking. It also appeared on all Stevens-Savage .303” No.4 Mk. I and No.4 MkI* rifles although the marking was sometimes removed, probably by the British. Over one million of these rifles were made for the British and the U.S. did not use them. The “U.S. PROPERTY” marking simply indicates that it was made in the USA under Lend Lease, and does not have any connection to who issued and/or carried it.

The .32 Colts were issued to some very senior U.S. officers as it was much lighter to carry than a 1911 or 1911A1. They were also frequently issued to SOE and OSS agents. I met two SOE agents, one female and one male, who still had their Colt .32 pistols and both were U.S. PROPERTY marked. Coincidentally the male agent lived in the house directly behind the house of the owner of Lever Arms, Alan Lever!

Apparently some factory letters will state that the pistols were delivered to the OSS.
 
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seaforth72 said:
The “U.S. PROPERTY” was a Lend Lease marking. It also appeared on all Stevens-Savage .303” No.4 Mk. I and No.4 MkI* rifles although the marking was sometimes removed, probably by the British. Over one million of these rifles were made for the British and the U.S. did not use them. The “U.S. PROPERTY” marking simply indicates that it was made in the USA under Lend Lease, and does not have any connection to who issued and/or carried it.

The .32 Colts were issued to some very senior U.S. officers as it was much lighter to carry than a 1911 or 1911A1. They were also frequently issued to SOE and OSS agents. I met two SOE agents, one female and one male, who still had their Colt .32 pistols and both were U.S. PROPERTY marked. Coincidentally the male agent lived in the house directly behind the house of the owner of Lever Arms, Alan Lever!

Apparently some factory letters will state that the pistols were delivered to the OSS.
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That is interesting information regarding the SOE and OSS agents carrying 1903's, you are bang on, thanks for that. I suspect this 1903 went to a senior officer as it was ordered by the "Commanding General" office. That said it could have gone anywhere as it does fall into the proper SN range for agents. I have attached some quotes from my internet poking. I have a question, according to my searches Colt made these from 1903–45 but the Military handed them out until 1972. Who maintained the inventory, Colt or the Military ?

- real US military pistols are between numbers 554,447 and 572,214. Ones that are blued ended at 1942 and were Parkerized from then on
- the change from blue to parkerized finish occurred at the Colt factory in the 561,000 serial number range.
- according to Brunner in his book on these pistols, there were over 2,900 of them shipped to the OSS. They fall into the serial number range of 541103 - 569725. There were also several hundred shipped to the Military Intelligence Service. They fall into a similar serial number range. A letter from Colt is the only way to know for sure if the pistol was sent to the OSS and that does not always confirm where it went. For example, there are S&W Victory Model revolvers that were shipped to the U.S. Navy in Rosslyn, VA, some of which are believed to have been for the OSS.
 
I’ve got a parkerized one my father gave me. It’s 1945 production. Clearly marked US property. Mine falls between 541103 and 569725. I haven’t applied for the letter. I suppose I should do that.
 
highbeam said:
I’ve got a parkerized one my father gave me. It’s 1945 production. Clearly marked US property. Mine falls between 541103 and 569725. I haven’t applied for the letter. I suppose I should do that.
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You should, you might get lucky and the officers name is on the letter!!
 
Nothing special about mine . other than it's mint condition original bluing made in 1922
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#1bcshooter said:
Nothing special about mine . other than it's mint condition original bluing made in 1922
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No harm in ordering a letter, you may get lucky and it was sold to someone of importance. Nice condition !!

I ordered a factory letter on a Winchester, it turned out to be a special order $$$
 
#1bcshooter said:
Nope , don't know if they marked them with that in 1922 .
Probably just a retail version . I should get the history from Colt who knows who it was originally sold to .
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To my knowledge the "US Property" marking on the Colt 1903's started in WWII, correct me if I am wrong.
 
bearhunter said:
I had the opportunity to dig through several thousand such pistols that were brought into International back in the early seventies. They ranged from junk, to fair, to good, very good, excellent, to a few hundred that were new in the wrap, in individual pressed paper boxes. with their serial numbers across the tops. They were all identical to your pistol, in construction and markings.
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Can you give more detail on this. The military handed these out until 1972 although Colt stopped manufacturing them in 1945. Your quote would suggest that the Military surplussed the ones you looked at. Thousands... that's a lot of pistols. I have my feelers out (in Canada) to see how many US Property marked 1903's are out there.. none have surfaced so far.
 
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