The Colt 1911 Russian Contract,While the United States did not take part in World War I until the fi

The Colt 1911 Russian Contract,While the United States did not take part in World War I until the final years of the war, it had little qualms making big bucks supplying arms to the Allied powers.  One lucrative customer was Russia, who constantly needed numerous amount of arms, ammunition, and supplies in the fight against Germany.  Between 1916 to 1917 the Russian government purchased 66,000 American Colt 1911 semi automatic pistols.  The pistols were standard Colt 1911 commercial models, chambered in .45 acp and marked with standard Colt factory stampings.  Its only identifying feature is the small Cyrilic marking "ANGL. ZAKAZY", located on the frame under the slide and roughly translating as “English Order”.  The pistols were not sold directly, but instead shipped to Britain, then shipped to Russia.  Russian contract serial numbers range from C23,000 - C89,000.  These pistols were never exported back to the United States, and thus are extremely rare.  The example pictured above sold for $19,000. -- source link

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