The Colt .45 Elvis gave Nixon...

[M2XD]

I was just reading this story on the infamous meeting of Elvis and President Nixon back on Dec. 21, 1970...



And the story states...

The free exhibit Monday includes the outfit Elvis wore (a black velvet overcoat, a gold-plated belt and black leather boots); Nixon's outfit (a gray woolen suit, tie and size 11 1/2 black shoes); letters; and a World War II .45-caliber Colt revolver that Elvis gave to Nixon.

And that's my question. I believe the media has mistakenly replaced the term "pistol" with "revolver;" but I was wondering if anyone knows for sure if it was definitely a revolver or could it had been (as I suspected) a M1911 semi-automatic pistol? The reason I suspect that is because Elvis was such a fan of the M1911...hence the commemorative Elvis Colt .45:

Elvis Presley Colt .45 auto Commemorative
Elvis frequently carried a pair of highly decorated .45 autos on his person (the originals can be seen at the Graceland Museum), so Colt Firearms and Elvis Presley Enterprises (Graceland) commissioned this highly gold engraved Colt .45 auto in only 300 editions. All over the gun are scenes from Elvis' life - this beautiful piece is as new, unfired, with all authenticating paperwork, history, wood presentation case. A great tribute to The King's favorite handgun.

Cheers! M2

[M2XD]

What? On this, what would have been Elvis' 72nd birthday, no one knows?

Bummer!

Cheers! M2

[Krackels]

From the nixonlibrary.org

The display also will include the gifts exchanged by the two iconic figures, from Elvis a commemorative World War II Colt 45 pistol in a presentation case, as well as family photos, and from RN, a set of Presidential cufflinks and an honorary Bureau of Narcotics Special Assistant badge requested by Elvis for his collection.

Here's 2 of Elvis' guns.

EDIT:Ooops, sorry about the incorrect URL. Chances are that since it's a 'commemorative WWII Colt .45 pistol' it's most likely a 1911. I couldn't find any pictures of it.

[M2XD]

Anybody in the LA area that can stop by and check it out? Pics would be nice.

By the way, the web site is nixonlibrary.org, nixonlibrary.com redirects you to ALU's Institute for Professional Development...

And I love Elvis' .357 Python, I have a 1954 Colt .357 Pre-Python that I inherited from my Dad. It was his favorite firearm, and a sweet gun to shoot!

Cheers! M2

[AKM]

Well lookie here what I found...

[slugger6]

Thanks, AKM. I would have been up all night trying to figure that out.

[M2XD]

Actually, I emailed the Nixon Library and got the following response:

Your e-mail was forwarded to me by the Library's foundation director, the Rev. John H. Taylor. Thank you for your query. I did a quick google search and found some images for you -

Camille Metzger examines a World War II commemorative Colt .45 pistol, that Elvis Presley gave to Richard Nixon during their Dec. 21, 1971 meeting, as she visits the Nixon Presidential Library and Birthplace on what would have been Elvis 72nd birthday Monday, Jan. 8, 2007, in Yorba Linda, Calif. The library celebrated the historic meeting with a museum-style display of the outfits both men wore and a talk by the presidential aide who set the meeting up.(AP Photo/Ric Francis)

It is indeed different from the US Navy Seabee commemorative which I also saw during the search, however, our label does say that the pistol is a "semi-automatic weapon." Let me know if this image will suffice? Have a Happy New Year!

I guess the mystery is solved!

Cheers! M2

[M2XD]

I just read in the Stars & Stripes where a gold-plated gun owned by Elvis was auctioned off for $28,000 in Beverly Hills, California. I don't think it is the same one, but I wish they included a pic!

Cheers! M2