A sword gifted to the mayor of St. Louis.

E

ericlikesknives

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Oct 17, 2015
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An eBay ad has my attention, someone is trying to sell a viking sword that was given as a greeting to the mayor of St. Louis from Norway on September 12, 1966. EBay item number 231740475541. Does anyone have any information on this event and who could have smithed/manufactured the sword?
 
It looks like a good library and newspaper research program. Look to the Sons of Norway and the St. Louis Norwegian Society, as well as the mayor's history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_J._Cervantes


The chances of finding out who the maker was is probably slim to none. While the hilt seems fairly plain, there were some migration era swords from about the 6th century that were similar.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sword-Greet...t-Louis-Sept-12-1966-36-3-Feet-/231740475541?

There is a faint possibility that a sword company such as Wilkinson ran off a batch of similar swords, as we start to see commemorative blades appearing at that point.

Cheers

GC
 
Appears to be some very minor surface rust, probably from uninformed handling and lack of attention. Items like this confuse me, because although I don't doubt the provenance (because really, who would make that up ? )..did it belong to the Mayor himself, or the "Office of the Mayor" ? Items belonging to the Office itself are property of the City, who very well could have sold it, so the rabbit hole has multiple possible paths. Sadly, no scabbard. Also be nice if they showed the peening arrangement securing the pommel if any. I can see something, a circular area where it may have been peened and then finished flush and polished a bit.. Good news is: It's most likely carbon steel.
 
I messaged the seller asking for any details he/she might have about the circumstances behind the mayor of St Louis receiving the sword.

His reply was that he got the sword "years ago" and didn't have any other information.
 
I asked a similar question without an answer. The seller also hasn't gotten back to me with more pictures though they said they would. I don't doubt his story per se, there just isn't much information about it. The Sons Of Norway did try to be helpful but they have not been able to come up with any solid information.
 
I don't find St. Louis in a list of "twin cities" either. The world's Fair was 1904 and there was the 1904 Olympics in Norway the same year. That wouldn't make much sense of a fifty year commemorative. Newspaper and library or city records really the best bets.

The price is absurd, even if there was more provenance.

Cheers
 
The St Louis newspaper online archives STOP with the 1920s on one site I found.

St Louis has half-a-dozen "sister cities" but none are in Scandinavia. Maybe there was one back in the 60s and the affiliation ceased.
 
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