Some more from SOCNET about it;
And;According to information found via Google (couple of different sites), it looks like this weapon was manufactured in early 1966 and part of the General LeMay Air Force contract. Another source (http://www.arfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5532) suggests it was manufactured prior to end of 1963.
Dang...You have the first model of AR put out by Colt after purchasing out Armalite in 1959. That is a 601 or model 01. The 601's went from 1959 to 1963. The first 2 were models were 601 & 602. The 01 should have a 1:14 rifle twist which was changed in the 02 to the more common 1:12 rifle twist and that one should not have a forward assist. There were something like 14.5K 601's made from 59'-63', so I would guess that serial number falls somewhere in the late 1961 to early 1962 time frame as I believe there were only a few hundred first put out in 59'. The original green furniture makes it even more rare of a model 601. Parts alone on that rifle are worth quite a bit of money piecemeal. I have seen just the original green furniture (not the entire rifle) go for nearly $2K. The entire weapon can go for $25K+ on the open market as a pre-ban full auto weapon. Probably much more than $25K.
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