Would Love Some Help With A Sword (Possibly Greek?) -- myArmoury.com

Robert Rye

First of all i am new to swords but they have always interested me.
Recently i ran upon a greek supposed sword on craigslist and did some research and found that it was worth significantly more than what the seller was asking for it so i was excited and also worried since my knowledge in swords isnt great.
The seller claims that the sword is greek and so did the site i found it on. Also the site lists it as from 400bc.
My question is are these 2 swords the same type, and are they heavily re-made because the one im looking at is in a lot better shape which also through me off...

Sword im buying:

Sword i found online

Looking to pick the sword up for 200.00...but i would love some help on if its real or not and what it is[/img]

Jean-Carle Hudon · Posted: Mon 24 Jan, 2011 5:17 pm Post subject: 400 bc

Are you asking if two hundred dollars is the proper price for a sword in very good condition which claims to be two thousand four hundred and eleven years old?
I would think that the right question is whether or not someone here knows who makes similar reproductions, and if two hundred dollars is right for such a reproduction.

Robert Rye · Posted: Mon 24 Jan, 2011 5:19 pm Post subject:

I was asking if the sword in question was an original.
Since i did not have any knowledge of repos i assumed it might be but i wasnt sure

Matthew Amt · Posted: Mon 24 Jan, 2011 5:23 pm Post subject:

Well, I'm sorry to say that this is not Greek. I thought it *might* be from "Luristan", a region of Iran and the middle east which is basically a strip mine for looted antiquities. But a brief Google image search on "Chinese bronze sword" turns up a few matches, which means it's almost certainly a fake. Exporting any antiquities from China is illegal, but the market is flooded with fakes. Buff the (possibly painted) patina off, and you might get a nice-looking weapon, but I wouldn't want to guess at the alloy. $200 seems a bit much to pay for that.

Definitely not Greek, though! Sorry...

Matthew

Robert Rye · Posted: Mon 24 Jan, 2011 5:26 pm Post subject:

alright thanks for the response
were the two swords i have pictured the same though?
i found that picture here
http://www.worldwidestore.com/30642c.htm
and im guessing they are selling a fake if what you say is true (which is what it sounds like because you seem knowledgeable on the subject)

Chris Lampe · Posted: Mon 24 Jan, 2011 6:43 pm Post subject:

I don't know anything about Bronze Age Greek swords but the original sword in your post is definately Chinese and almost 100% certain to be a reproduction.

Dan Howard · Posted: Mon 24 Jan, 2011 7:44 pm Post subject:

If you wanted to try and convince people that it was real you'd ask for several thousand dollars in the hope that someone would bite. The simple fact that you think that you can get it for $200 is a pretty sure bet that it is fake even without looking at a photo. Do you really think you can get anything that is two and a half thousand years old for $200? The days of this are long over. The internet makes it too easy for sellers to determine the real value of any item.