Is this the rarest STIHL chainsaw?
In 1962/63, STIHL shipped approximately six “GOLDEN CONTRAS” to randomly selected customers to mark the production of its 200,000th chainsaw.
It sounds like the person who opened their box to find a gold-painted chainsaw got it for free too!
This is way better than Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket.
Here’s what I could find out about the Golden Contra.
1963: Golden Contra
To mark the production of its 200,000th chainsaw, STIHL sends out a GOLDEN CONTRA every month in the winter of 1962/63. The customer who finds the gold-painted chainsaw in the shipping carton is invited to test the saw – and does not have to pay for it.
This is what it looks like on the STIHL history website.
I’ve shared plenty of rare chainsaws on the blog, like the STIHL 045 military saw, Comet B, or 500i Launch Edition, and have spent countless hours researching STIHL saws, but have only just heard of the Golden Contra.
I came across it only by going through the STIHL history page, and I can only find one other mention of it online: in the STIHL Contra FB Group.
Siem shared Rtbe’s post, which references the Golden Contra.
Rtbe has painted a Contra Golden to mimic the 1963 Golden Contra—it’s not originally golden.
Here are some of his pictures.
This is a VERY golden contra.
The gold in the picture from STIHL’s history page doesn’t look quite this golden, but this is a nice job nonetheless.
The comment thread in the Contra FB group has more interesting information…
Siem said, “Stihl told me they did it only once and destroyed them afterward —what’s exactly true no one knows” [edited for clarity].
The text on STIHL’s history page says those who receive a Golden Contra are “invited to test the saw”… does that mean they had to return it afterwards?
Maybe just one golden chainsaw was sent out, returned, and sent out again for the six-month promo period.
These pictures were also shared in the thread:
Skip said:
I have seen a pic of an unusual Contra that has blue paint over a gold undercoat.
However, Siem is adamant that this isn’t one of the Golden Contras from 1962/63. He says the original Golden Contra has been destroyed.
Therefore, I’m not sure what the story is with this blue/gold Contra. I found another one that’s similar in the Chainsaw Collectors forum…
It’s the same gold/bronze color, but without the blue.
Forum user blsnelling shared:
What I’m really interested in is the OD Green finish, the markings, and the muffler. This is the original finish. Would this be a saw built for the military? If so, would it have originally had a different color shroud than red? What about the markings? Any significance there? …The serial number is 1103350.
And there was no clear answer as to why this Contra was this color, but no one mentioned the possibility that it might be the Golden Contra.
You can also see it running in this YouTube video.
That’s everything I could find out about the Golden Contra. Please share anything else in the comment section below. More information about the standard Contra here.
Lastly, in the Contra FB group thread, Justin shared about a Golden STIHL 07 Chainsaw competition.
This was to make the production of 500,000 chainsaws, so I assume it was years later, but it’s another saw I’m going to have to look into.
