Sword, Sabre & Military Articles &
Research |
Below are links to pages and resource areas regarding some of our
own work on edged weapons plus material (such as the Hussars resource)
we saved from being lost for ever when the previous owner decided
to close his site (Hussars.org). Our own articles are what we believe
are the facts regarding certain contentious and often misrepresented
swords / sabres.
But now, below, is an article warning.
Common antique sword dealer / auction house bad practices.
Here are some common bad practices to watch out for (we do none
of these). If you are in any doubt about a sword you intend buying
or have bought, we offer an authenticity
/ identification service.
1) Selling reproductions as authentic antique swords.
There are a LOT of reproduction swords available, mostly made
on the Indian subcontinent, some made in the Ukraine / Russia, often
with fake markings. Because they are new, they look new, so unscrupulous
sellers age them one way or another; for a dishonest dealer, it
is worth burying a repro sword in their garden for a few weeks in
order to pass it off as authentic. Look around and you will find
these items being sold as reproductions
on various sites.
2) Adding spurious regimental markings.
It is unfortunately a widespread practice where militaria dealers
arm themselves with a fine metal cutter and add spurious markings
to swords, so they can then sell them at vast profits, claiming
they were at the Battle of Waterloo or the Charge of the Light Brigade.
To the novice, these markings look real. To experts like us, we
can tell them instantly. These fraudulent militaria dealer acts
actually devalue the swords they afflict, so that when you come
to value or sell them, you will be very unhappy indeed.
3) Passing off generic swords as something else.
It never ceases to amaze us how often we see experienced dealers
selling off generic swords as something special; for example, selling
authentic but generic mid 19C Prussian made cavalry swords without
any regimental markings / provenance as valuable US Civil War swords.
4) False provenance
This happens a lot. Swords are claimed to have been carried
by certain famous officers or during important battles when they
were / have not. It is so widespread that we have found examples
of subterfuge in museums; of course we notified them with reasoning
and, of course, they were not very happy.
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