US M1916 Hoster...good repro or authentic

[equitis]

I acquired this M1916 holster as part of an M1956 Vietnam webbing rig. The webbing iself was mostly original with a few repro items, but the seller thought the holster to be an original.

After trawling the web, I suspect what I have is actually a very good reproducton item.

The patina looks good, and it also has the deepest brown colour, rather than black, that WW2 russet brown coloured holsters have when they were re-dyed black in the early 50's.

However, my suspicions are raised by the fact it has no date or makers stamps, and the stiching under the hanger goes all the way across, wheras on an original it is unstiched between the hooks. Also, the rivets could have been better finished.

If it's an original, then that's great, but as the whole rig didn't cost much money I won't be too disappointed if it is a repro.

Here are the pictures:



The flash brings out the brown colour, but it's almost black in normal daylight. Note also that the dye has only been applied to the exposed areas inside the holster. Further down you can see the natural colour and even a run where the dye has dripped down.

Thanks in advance for any advice on this.

[RETREAD]

I don't see a date or mfg. name The color went from brown to black and many were haphazardly dyed This may have been a local purchase It seems less robustly built than an issue item