Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket .25 ACP Serial Numbers 1 & 2
with original August 25, 1896 patent and 1909 Colt
Catalog.
The First Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket
.25 ACP Automatic Pistols
Serial Numbers 1 and 2
© Sam Lisker, All rights reserved.
Colt’s Model 1908 Vest Pocket .25 ACP pistol (or “Model
N” as it was referred to internally by the Colt factory) is
perhaps one of the more interesting Colt models to collect.
It was manufactured from 1908 until just after WWII, with
the last pistol being shipped in 1948. Throughout
production, there were a significant number of standard
production and factory embellished variations of this model.
Due to its size and small caliber, there is a relatively
high survival rate of Vest Pocket .25s in better than
average condition.
While the highest serial number was 420,705, the total
production numbered approximately 409,000 pistols making it
one of Colt’s best selling commercial automatic pistols.
Until World War II, the Colt 1908 Vest Pocket was Colt’s
fifth most popular model. It was only outperformed by the
1903 .32 ACP and Model of 1911 U.S. Army .45 ACP automatic
pistols and the Official Police and Police Positive Special
revolvers, four models for which there were large military
contracts and police orders.
Collectors most frequently encounter six and occasionally
five-digit serial number examples of the Model N. Seldom are
four, three and two-digit serial numbers encountered.
Single-digit serial numbers are almost unheard of.
Pictured on this month’s cover are two very unique Colt Vest
Pocket .25 pistols: serial numbers one and two. They are
perhaps the only set of pre-WWII first and second
consecutively serial numbered pistols that exist in the same
collection. Model 1903 Pocket Hammer .38 ACP serial numbers
19999 and 19998 (which were the first and second guns of
this model produced) were at one time in the same
collection, but today, their whereabouts are unknown.
As would be expected with the earliest single-digit serial
numbered examples of a new model, serial numbers one and two
were shipped to two very well connected individuals who had
important relationships with Colt’s.
Serial number one was shipped to noted collector J.R.
Hegeman. At one time, Hegeman had one of the most
outstanding Colt collections in this country. He was truly a
pioneer in Colt collecting and presumably had some fantastic
connections within the Colt company that allowed him to own
many pre-production, prototype and serial number one guns.
Many of Hegeman's Colt's are now part of some of the finest
collections.
Number one was assembled on October 30, 1908 and on November
28, 1908, it was shipped directly to Hegeman in a single gun
shipment. Mr. Hegeman, a vice president of the Metropolitan
Life Insurance Company, of New York, was a very active
collector between 1885 and 1925, and was interested only in
Colt arms.
Serial number two was shipped November 24, 1908 to Frank
Schirmer. Schirmer, who at the time of shipment was the
Treasurer of Colt’s, served on Colt’s board of directors
from 1901 until 1921 and was a principal in the original
acquisition of Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company
by the Boston and New York financial house of Armstrong &
Schirmer in June 1901. Armstrong & Schirmer was a private
investment firm affiliated with the George R. Armstrong
Company of Boston, Massachusetts. Mr. Schirmer played a
pivotal role in the transfer of Mrs. Colt’s stock to the
firm in 1901 and was serving as Colt’s Treasurer at the time
of shipment. [1]
Also pictured with this consecutive set is the original
Arthur Creed Wright Patent No. 566367, granted on August 25,
1896, and an original 1909 Colt catalog.
The August 25, 1896 date is the first patent date that
appears on the slide of Colt’s Model 1908 Vest Pocket pistol
and is the earliest patent date to appear on any production
Colt automatic pistol model. The 1909 Catalog was the
earliest catalog to feature the Colt Vest Pocket .25.
[1] Ellsworth S. Grant, The
Colt Armory: A History of Colt’s Manufacturing Company,
(Lincoln, RI: Mobray Publishing, 1995), p.71, 90, 226.
(Second Edition)
Colt Model N Serial Number 1. A one gun shipment to
noted Colt collector J.R. Hegeman on November 28, 1908. Mr.
Hegeman, a vice president of the Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company, of New York, was very active between 1885 and 1925,
and was interested in Colt arms only. Hegeman was truly a
pioneer in Colt collecting and presumably had some fantastic
connections within the Colt company in order for him to own
many production prototype and serial number one guns.
Colt Model N Serial Number 2. A one gun shipment to
Colt's Treasurer Frank A. Schirmer on 11/24/08. Schirmer
also received the first Model M .32 shipped.
Colt Model N serial number 25 - A single gun shipment
November 20, 1908 (the first day of commercial
shipments) to A.M. Holter Hardware Company, Helena, Montana.
Serial number 25 predates the shipping dates for both serial
numbers 1 and 2. The gun is an interesting example as the
serial number matches the caliber.
Colt Model N Serial Number 400000. One of a two gun
shipment to W.H. Hoegee Co, Los Angeles, CA, June 15, 1936.
Colt 1908 Vest Pocket .25 ACP
serial number 430467 - factory nickel finish, aftermarket mother of
pearl grips. Gun is unusual in that it the serial number is
approximately 10,000 numbers higher than the highest recorded production
serial number, 420705. This appears to be the result of a factory
numbering error at the time of production as the matching slide is
numbered 340467, meaning that the first two numbers of the serial number
on the frame were unintentionally transposed.
Colt 1908 Vest Pocket .25 ACP
serial number 430467 - slide is numbered 340467. According to
Colt's Historian, 340467 is recorded as a gun with factory nickel plated
finish. The Historian also indicated that there is no notation in
the production records regarding the serial number discrepancy between
the slide and the frame. In the case of a misnumbered serial
number, Colt's would often restrike a number over the incorrect number
in order to correct the error.
Pistol was one of 10 shipped to Belknap Hardware & Manufacturing
Company, Louisville, Kentucky, December 17, 1923.
An example of a Colt factory serial number overstrike to
correct in an incorrectly numbered gun. Note the "6" over the "5"
above.
Colt 1908 Vest Pocket .25 ACP
serial number 430467 - factory nickel finish, right side view.
|