German sword

Y

Yotehntr

Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Messages
7
I've had this sword in my closet for years. It was passed down to me from my grandfather... (actually need to talk to my folks to get more detail) I was watching "pawn stars" and saw a sword in the back ground, my daughter and son in law were over so I dug it out to show him. The pics leave something to be desired... I can't make out the blue color in the center around some of the etching... I was wondering if anyone could give me some info on the sword, I'm also curious to any type of value it might have. Thanks for any help! I'd be happy to try to take better pics or close ups of different areas if it'll help, I also wasn't sure what the max size of pics were so I held 'em to 640 pixels... Thanks again!

edited to give 1000 pixels a try on the last 2 pics.
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Thank you Dennis, I talked with the folks and it seems when my Aunt & Uncle were stationed in Germany they brought this back for my grandfather. I guess that would have had to be 40-50 years ago...(guesstimation)
 
I've collected militaria for most my life, and have owned many WW1 and WW2 German military artifacts. I've never specialized in the edged weapons, but can give you some basics on your sword.

What you have is an Imperial German (WW1 era) dove head artillery officers presentation sword. It has a great look to it, as in untouched. So many times these are beaten out of the "woodwork" by pickers (for dealers) and cleaned up a bit for maximum retail. It's getting more difficult to find pieces with genuine patina and age "hanging" off them such as this...

Condition plays a large role in value. Often, 50% of the value is in the blade, the other 50% is in external appearance and condition. Given the etching and overall condition (from what can be seen in the photos), I'd say you could likely sell this piece for around $600-$700, provided the scabbard hasn't lost too much paint (appears there may be some heavy rust present). In overall good to excellent condition these easily bring over $1,000.

Can you see any makers marks on the ricasso?

Kind regards,
Rob.
 
I apologize for taking so long to respond Rob. I checked the "notify on response" but didn't get one.

Thank you for your response! I don't see any makers mark on this....even put my magnifying glass to it. lol I don't see much paint on the scabbard... I don't see any pitting from the rust but a light coat of rust does cover it. It's been in a closet for many years and neglected I'm afraid.
 
WOW!!! That's it, Thank you for that. I think the scabbard on mine is in worse shape but the blade itself is very close. Made my day with this thank you very much!
 
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