I’m Logan Metesh of High Caliber History, and the host of GunBroker’s No Lowballers podcast, and I’m here to go in depth with you about some of the impressive items that are being offered in the September collection of Collectors Elite Auctions.
Colt 1903 Pocket Hammer
Plenty of people are familiar with John Moses Browning and his Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless pistol, but less people know about its brother from another mother, the Colt 1903 Pocket Hammer. While their names are very similar to one another the similarities stop there. So I guess instead of being brothers they’re actually probably more like cousins. The Colt 1903 Pocket Hammer is in many ways just a shrunk down version of the 1902 sporting model, which was an evolution of the model 1900.
The gun is interesting in design because of some of the features. There’s no safety of any kind, no slide lock, and a wedge is used to hold the slide to the frame. Now the wedge was crucial to the gun’s caliber. If the wedge came loose and dislodged from the gun then the slide could fly to the rear, off of the frame, and injure the shooter. That’s why it was limited to a lesser caliber, 3.8 ACP, of which the magazine held seven rounds.
The Colt 1903 Pocket Hammer was in production from 1903 until 1927, with the one being offered in the September collection being a rather late gun. The included colt factory letter shows that it shipped on October 1926 to a dealer in Scranton, PA. Considering that its 98 years old, the gun is in very good condition and would be a great addition for someone who is putting together a collection of early semi-auto pistols.
Husqvarna Model 1907
The next gun we’re going to look at is similar to the first one. When you think of Husqvarna you probably think about chainsaws. Instead you should think about pocket pistols, specifically the Husqvarna Model 1907. Colt had the US rights to the Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless and FN had the rights to the design in Europe. Countries over there wanted a gun in 9mm Browning long so the 1903 was scaled up by FN, and the new design was adopted by Sweden as their new military sidearm named the Husqvarna Model 1907. In 1917, Sweden acquired the rights to manufacture the Model 1907 at an arms factory in Husqvarna.
Production continued until 1940 when a new pistol was adopted. And the Model 1907 languished until the guns started being imported to the United States on the surplus market. Since 9mm Browning long has never been a popular cartridge in the US. the imported guns were rechambered and rebarreled to 380 ACP and so marked on the slide. The rear of the slide on the gun offered here is marked with a crown over TT and HK which are inspectors initials for Tor thorson and helga Kolthoff.
The gun in September’s collection is one of those imported guns so you can easily find ammo for it today. It also comes with a period correct holster that holds two spare magazines. So you get three mags with this gun! That’s a huge plus for an old gun where magazines can be hard to come by. If you want an interesting piece of Husqvarna history don’t miss out on this gun.
Springfield Armory M1A – Divine, TX
Finally, we’ve got an M1A which is the civilian version of the militaries M14 from Springfield Armory. Now, we’re talking about Springfield Armory the civilian company with no ties to the historic federal Armory. But there’s a bit of a historical twist to this particular gun.
Springfield Armory company in Illinois is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, but the company is actually older than that. And it wasn’t always in Illinois. Instead, it was originally located in Divine, Texas outside of San Antonio and was owned by Elmer Balance. As the story goes, Balance owed money to Bob Reese of Illinois who went to Texas to collect on the debt. Long story short, by the time Reese got back to Illinois he had bought the company and its inventory from Balance. The rest is as they say, history!
Springfield Armory cut its teeth on making the M1A, which they still produced today. That’s why the M1A being offered in the September collection is a rare collector’s item. In addition to having an early 4-digit serial number, the real rarity is found on the barrel which is marked Divine TX. That’s right, this M1A is one of the guns made by Springfield Armory under the original ownership of Elmer Balance. Because this gun predates the version that can be bought today and because they were produced in much smaller numbers is what makes them popular with collectors for people who are looking to add an interesting gun to their collection that just might help them win a bar bet with the trivia that comes along with it, then this Texas made M1A is just what’s needed to make that happen! For more information on all of the lots being offered in the September collection of Collector’s Elite Auctions as well as any future offerings visit CollectorsEliteAuctions.com.
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