Collins & Co No 216 Sword Info

C

Crazyotter

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Jun 26, 2010
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I recently came across something quite unique, and made a choice 10 minutes before the gun show closed. I came across a sword, and almost overlooked it but the horn handle reminded me of the Collins machettes. Picked it up, and while the Collins & Co marking is almost entirely worn off, along with half of the Legitimus mark, it was there and caught me eye. It says model 21, of which I can't find any info on. All I can say is that it does have the old Collins and Co marking with the word Hartford underneath. If anyone here has any info on it, that would be much appreciated. Years it could have been made, value, cool tidbits, what is made for, things like that. Can get pics if requested. Thanks.

Edit, found out it is a Model 216. The 6 is so worn I could only see the bottom of the 6 and mistook it for a scratch.
 
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This looks a lot like something made in the early 1900's in my country. Many farmers ("campesinos") would put a horn handle in a Collins machete (the only brand that you could buy here, at the time), with a crossguard made of brass, straigth. My uncle had one (sorry, no pictures, and don't know where it ended after he passed away. Could also be mexican or cuban.
 
The green horn grips were original on these pieces, as were the guards. They were made by Collins in Hartford, Connecticut. But you're probably right about the early 1900's bit.
 
Huh, I was thinking early 1900's myself. The few bits of info I've been able to find says the Collins and Co Hartford marking is one of their earlier markings due to the Hartford marking, but at the same time the Legitimus mark doesn't line up. Legitimus was one of the last markings they used according to my sketchy source. Either way, a old ebay add with one of these in it said it was from the Spanish American war, during the late 1890's. Not sure if its true, wish I could get confirmation. Plus I'm trying to figure out what to do with this.
 
I don't know if this will help but google "machetes militares españoles, guerra de Cuba" (in spanish) and click "images" and you will find "todocoleccion.net". There, there is a picture of an almost exact copy of your machete. According to the website, you have a machete of the Spanish-American War. If this is so or not, I can't say.
 
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Some excerpts and information.

http://www.davistownmuseum.org/bioCollins.html

I am by no means a Collins follower but have seen this sword cross on a number of blades, including shorter bowie type blades. One of the most interesting I had considered owning was a gutta percha gripped 1850 foot officer sword of the American Civil War period. Some of the civil war swords are highly priced and desireable. They produced bayonets for the worlwide market as well as these various machete forms. One alos often priced in the higher three figure bracket are the eagle pommel officer machetes with the composite checkered grips. Also American/Spanish war era.

Cheers

GC
 
The Legitimus mark was seen on many of the Hartford-made pieces--just specifically models made for export, if I remember correctly (and I may not). I believe pieces produced in that time for domestic consumption were the ones without it, as the labels were in English.
 
Need to see the actual stamp on this sword machete. An arcing Hartford stamp is older usually, if it is in a block, it's 1890's-1930's. It won't make a huge difference on this model and there is some over lap. Value is around $250, give or take $50 or so.

Look up Cutacha, that is what this class of machete is. It was a better quality machete, sold as a symbol of rank among land owners, workers, etc.... even more than it was ment as a working tool. Some may have been used during the Span-AM war, but many more were sold for the purpose mention above.

:).
 
Wow, lots of good info. Email didn't update me to these replies, sorry. But I appreciate it all, it definitely gives me a good idea of what this is. The whole machete thing didn't line in my mind due to the blade design and taper until now, nor the age and markings. But the cutacha lines up, and the info on markings you guys gave me. Finally know what this is. :) And ok on the value, I think I'm going to try and ebay this. I'll be lucky to get a hundred, but I have no practical use for it, and I don't think attempting to restore it would be a good idea. I'd hate to ruin this. Thank you for all the info.
 
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