This is a scarce example of the holster used by the Prussian Royal Navy, the Königliche Marine, with their M/69 Revolvers, which were .36 caliber Beaumont-Adams Pattern percussion revolvers that were acquired to supplement the supply of Colt Model 1851 Navy Revolvers that the Prussian Navy had been issued in 1858, as no additional Colt revolvers were available unless they were purchased from Colt in the United States.

Interestingly, the Prussian Kingdom did not order the Colt Model 1851 or purchase their Colt revolvers but rather acquired them accidently by intercepting a load of some 3,000 Colt Model 1851 “Navy” Revolvers that has been sold by Colt to the Russians in 1855. Samuel Colt had visited St. Petersburg in 1854, and the Russians had been suitably impressed with his new “Belt Model” revolver, so much so that they decided to purchase some. As a result of the visit, the Russians ordered 3,000 of guns. However, Colt had not acquired patent protection for his design in Russia, so the Russians also intended to manufacture unlicensed copies of Colt’s designs in their own factories once the guns were in hand and available to reverse engineer and copy. 

Due to the outbreak of the Crimean War, the British Navy blockaded the Baltic Sea and effectively isolated the Russians from many foreign imports, particularly those being delivered by sea. It was suggested that the order of Colt revolvers could be delivered via rail, transiting from neutral Belgium through Prussia and into Russia. In August of 1855, during a customs search of the train when is stopped in Aachen (Prussia), the Prussian authorities found the revolvers and their accoutrements hidden in bales of cotton. The revolvers, along with their flasks, tools and molds were confiscated. 1,000 of those guns were delivered to the Danzig Naval Yard in December of 1858 for use by the Royal Prussian Navy. The guns and their accoutrements were marked with the letters K M and with an inventory number. Although collectors have long referred to those guns and accoutrements as being Kriegsmarine (Navy) marked, or sometimes Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) marked, the letters really stand for Königliche Marine or “Royal Navy” as Prussia was a Kingdom during the period. The fate of the other 2,000 guns is not currently known.

The revolvers were delivered with accessories that included Colt marked powder flasks, as well as bullet molds, and combination L-shaped nipple wrenches and screwdrivers. The brass cappers often associated with these revolvers, as well as the nipple picks, were obtained locally from Prussian contractors and were not part of the original Colt delivery. The holsters that were used by the Königliche Marine were not supplied by Colt, either but were also sourced in Prussia. The holsters underwent a series of modifications and changes from their initial issue through the mid-1860s. Over that period two pouches were added to the holster design. One has long been called a spare cylinder pouch by authors and historians, but this is not correct. Rather the small pouch that was added to the holster was designed to hold a tin-lined container to hold the nitrated paper cartridges that were issued with the revolvers. The other pouch that was added was on the face of the holster to hold the brass capper and the nipple pick. At least one author refers to this final version of the holster as the Type III, with the Type I not having either accessory pouch and with the Type II holsters having had the cartridge pouch added to it, but without the capping pouch on its face. While many of the holsters were marked with the same style of KM ownership marking as well as the issue rack number applied to the revolvers, flasks and nipple wrenches, some wear apparently unmarked. These were likely replacement holsters that were issued to replace others that were worn out or damaged in service. Interestingly the 1907 Bannerman Catalog shows these KM Type III holsters for sale, either by themselves or as the holster for “Cossack” pistols, which were Caucasian ball butt percussion pistols. How, or why Bannerman conflated these unrelated items is hard to know, but this explains why some of these holsters survive on the collector market in the United States. The add offered the Ball Butt Caucasian pistol with the KM holster for $4.00 or the holster by itself for $0.40. While these seem like amazingly cheap prices, it must be remembered that $4.00 in 1907 would be equivalent to about $900 today, according to MeasuringWorth.com and the $0.40 cent holster represents about $90 today.

The Colt Model 1851 Navy Revolvers remained in service with the Prussian Royal Navy until they were phased out in favor of the new M/79 Reichsrevolver, which was a self-contained metallic cartridge revolver. Interestingly, in 1869 the Prussians expanded their navy and needed additional revolvers, but no more Model 1851 Colts were available beyond the roughly 1,000 that had been delivered to Danzig in 1858. Thus a .36 caliber version of the Model 1854 Adams percussion revolver was adopted as the M69 revolver to be used alongside the Colts. What happened to the other 2,000 confiscated Colt Navy revolvers is not clear, but it is possible that the Prussians subsequently sold them back to their original owners, the Russians, or in some other way disposed of them.

The Prussian KM Pattern Holster for the Prussian M/69 Beaumont Adams Pattern Navy Revolver offered here is the “Type III” pattern with the attached cartridge pouch and the capper pouch on the holster’s face. The holster is nominally 10” in length with a flap closure and a nominally 2 ¾” by 2 ¼” cartridge pouch attached to its side. This holster has the deeper triggerguard cutaway than the cutout in the holster for the Colt revolvers. This cut away measures slightly less than 2” in length, measuring from the top lip of the holster. A nominally 5” pouch on the face of the holster contains an old, high quality reproduction brass capper with an attached cone (nipple) pick. Both the holster body and the cartridge box have nominally 3” belt loops attached to their rears. The holster flap is secured by a brass button on the holster’s face, with the flaps for the ammunition pouch and capper pouch being secured by leather tabs. The holster is unmarked and is probably a replacement holster that may have never been issued for use, which explains its very nice condition. The holster is in about VERY GOOD+ to FINE condition overall and is solid and complete. The leather has an attractive medium brownish tan color with the often-encountered mismatch in color tones between the holster body, the cartridge box, the capper pouch and the belt loops. As the parts were often cut from different hides that had been dyed and processed by hand, the color of the leather was not entirely consistent. The leather shows some surface scuffs, marks and mars, with some small areas of discoloration from staining, use and wear. The stitching all remains tight and secure, and the holster remains in very good, solid and serviceable condition. There is some crazing and moderate wear to the thinner parts like the capper pouch, and the closure flaps for that pouch and the cartridge pouch.

Overall, this is a very nice example of a scarce and desirable KM Pattern Holster for the Prussian M/69 Navy Revolver. This would be a fine addition to any collection of 19^th century Prussian military items, particularly a naval collection and would be a perfect accessory for your Prussian Navy M/69 Revolver.