My 1945 Ithaca

[COWBOYKEITH]

Here's my 1945 ITHACA ,this is one of the out of sequence pistols delivered in JAN 1945 to the TRANSPORTATION OFFICER ,ROCK ISLAND ORD. DEPOT, ROCK ISLAND ILL.The pistol also has the parkerized feed ramp that some of the ITHACA'S were shipped with .It is all original and shows only slight holster wear.The serif P is matching on both the slide and frame.

COWBOYKEITH


http://i26.tinypic.com/24n31qf.jpg http://i32.tinypic.com/352hfyo.jpg
http://i26.tinypic.com/35at361.jpghttp://i27.tinypic.com/dbpd4.jpg
http://i26.tinypic.com/xbmmc7.jpghttp://i30.tinypic.com/deqy6h.jpg
http://i28.tinypic.com/2w7qohw.jpghttp://i30.tinypic.com/24gopz8.jpg

[rondawg]

Wow! Very, very nice! Looks like it hasn't even been used.

[John]

Why is that 4 in the serial number stamped like that? Was this a common issue back then?

[COWBOYKEITH]

Why is that 4 in the serial number stamped like that? Was this a common issue back then?



JOHN I honestly don't know ,this is not the first pistol I have ever seen with the serial # mis -aligned .Maybe some of the more knowledgable collectors can answer that .I wondered to,but wasn't going to pass it up because of a out of alignment number .

COWBOYKEITH

[Doran]

Ithaca serialized later pistols with a progessive numbering head. Looks like that wheel didn't quite line up at stamping.

[COWBOYKEITH]

Ithaca serialized later pistols with a progessive numbering head. Looks like that wheel didn't quite line up at stamping.


DORAN Thank you for answering the question ,I thought it was something like that but was not sure .

COWBOYKEITH

[Joel Babcock]

Ithaca numbering progression is an interesting observation pastime. They appeared to use the same numbering head from beginning to end, with periods of different font numbering heads in use for who knows what reason in between. It appears in the early 1,200,xxx range the 1 on the numbering head broke because some guns have been observed with what looks like a hand stamped 1... shortly after this the font completely changes to a much larger font and that is in use for a while and they go back to the early numbering head when it's 1 wheel is repaired it appears. The numbering heads are a progressive wheel numbering head with replaceable wheels and the actual stamping apparatus looked something like a bearing press that held the numbering head and each stroke advanced the numbers like a car odometer (the older ones, not the new digital).

I bought the Ithaca numbering heads from an Ithaca factory employee who purchased them at auction several years ago and didn't buy the press because you'd need a lot bigger truck than I had so I just bought the progressive serial number heads. The digits match perfectly with all style Ithaca fonts I've seen to date.

For something like the 4 in this particular Ithaca to come out of alignment, the tooth holding that wheel must have malfunctioned allowing the wheel with the 4 to roll up and it is possible when you see how they operate.

[BT2012]

Congrats on your pickup. That's a great looking Ithaca you've got there.

[lenb]

I've always liked the Ithaca guns, and it looks like you got a really nice one. Congratulations! I've also seen quite a few Ithacas with mis-aligned serial numbers over the years, and I kinda like it, I think it gives them character. I saw one in a similar range that had the last four digits staggered downward from each other. The interesting thing about it was that the last four digits were all zeros.