This rare Adams Mark II revolver shows the British war department W^D mark along with the acceptance date 4.72 (April 1872). The Mark II was the military version of a virtually identical commercial revolver that collectors refer to as the Adams Model 1867B revolver. The only difference between the two is the military markings on the Mark II and the addition of a barrel address on the Model 1867B. The Adams Mark II was the first newly made cartridge revolver accepted into service with the British war department. It was accepted in List of Changes No. 2227 of 22 Feb 1872 as "Pistol, Adams' Central Fire, B.L. (Mark II)".  The Mark II was quickly superseded a few months later by the Adams Mark III revolver which had an improved extractor system. 

This revolver has a strange Crown/3 mark stamped under the barrel. Although not well understood, this mark is found on many firearms that saw service in Cape Colony (South Africa). Serial Number is 4613.