Haymarket, Virginia– March 2025– SK Guns® is proud to announce the next installment of its “Lost States of America” Series. The fourth edition will feature imagery of James Gadsden and the proposal for the state of Montezuma, which now makes up the southern regions of Arizona and New Mexico. This tribute to Gadsden and Montezuma will be a limited-production run of only 200 Colt 1911 Full-Size Government Models, chambered in .45 ACP.
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The “Lost State of Montezuma” is derived from a territorial purchase that led to a failed proposal to create a U.S. state. This idea emerged during the mid-19th century during a period marked by territorial expansion and debates over the organization of newly acquired lands.
James Gadsden played a significant role in this era of American expansion. Born May 15, 1788, in Charleston, South Carolina, Gadsden was most notably a soldier, diplomat and railroad executive. Gadsden is best known for negotiating the Gadsden Purchase in 1853, wherein the United States acquired approximately 30,000 square miles of territory from Mexico. This land was intended to facilitate a southern transcontinental railroad and now forms the southernmost regions of Arizona and New Mexico.
The art depicted on this collectible’s slide includes a subtle scroll of Palo Verde (the state tree of Arizona) and the American Bald Eagle. Mexico’s Gold Eagle appears, accented by a banner encompassing the New Mexico state motto “Crescit Eundo” meaning “It Grows as it Goes” and the Arizona state seal “Ditat Deus” meaning “God Enriches.” The firearms are all set in 24k Gold, featured on the slide.
The right side of the slide portrays the Gadsden Purchase, otherwise known as “the Treaty,” where Gadsden, then the U.S. Minister to Mexico, and a Mexican state official met to sign over the land.
To complete the firearm, a portrait of Gadsden with the title “The Lost State of Montezuma” sits on top of the slide, just below the iconic American Progress symbol of Manifest Destiny. The firearm is completed with beautiful Desert Ironwood grips from the Sonora Desert indigenous to Arizona.
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