I recently purchased an Argentine military bayonet that was purported to be foraged in 1896. As with most surplus Argentine military items on the open market, the Argentine Crest has been obliterated by a grinder. There is no date on the bayonet, however, there is a serial number - K2495. Can anyone suggest how I might verify the foraging date?

go to gunboards.com and get on the edged weapons/bayonet forum or
ebayonets.com- Dennis Otobre site, he sells bayos but has a lot of info on them in his discriptions.
also there are some links at gunboards and also you might try parallax's curio and relic forums. they also have a bayo forum.
both parallax and gunboards are a wealth of firearms info and link to many other sites nd dealers also caryibng bayo and swords.
does yours have brass or alloy grips? the brass were used by the navy and are rarer than alloy.
Janzens Notebook is a very good reference for bayos.

Thanks for the tips . . . I'll definitely check them out. Also, the grips are alloy.

No offense, but why? The value has been almost entirely obliterated by the grinding work. Only in original condition would such a piece be of any value; as it is, it's a sharp pointy thing that fits on the end of an Argentine 7.62x65 rifle. The rifles and ammunition are also available on the surplus market right now, cheap.

Regards,
Brian M

It is just the satisfaction of knowing . . . that's all. I gave the bayonet to my son who is really into swords (but due to his age, is without the funds to get serious into collecting) and he was extremely happy to have it. So, in a sense, it is priceless.

The grinding of the Argentine military emblem is now a part of the blade's history and there are other markings on the weapon that are basically unblemished. Overall, it is a neat, interesting piece.

I have seen several of these bayonets and have one myself. On my bayonet the date is 1891. As for the grinding on the blade, most seem to have this feature and was probably a deliberate action done during its working life. But, take all of this with a grain of salt, my knowledge and my collection is of swords made between the 9th and 17th century. This is one of the few bayonets I own, otherwise nothing in my collection is younger than 350 years.