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Lance Morris




Location: NYC
Joined: 17 Aug 2013
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Posts: 186

PostPosted: Fri 24 Aug, 2018 4:10 pm    Post subject: How to find an original authentic medieval sword         Reply with quote

Hello guys,
I知 in the market for an original medieval sword- of any year or type but still in good quality.

While doing my homework online I知 having trouble really been able to trust authentic this replicas. Does anyone have any knowledge of a seller that can be trusted? Or any links on eBay of swords worth buying?

Thank you
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Craig Peters




PostPosted: Fri 24 Aug, 2018 6:16 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Lance,

It's really tough to be confident buying antiques on the market. A lot of the auction houses and other dealers as you know will sell swords that are fake- either because they lack enough awareness to carefully discern real swords from fake ones, or worse, because they just want to make a sale. I think you'll have better chances if the seller can provide metallurgical analysis for the sword from a reputable source. Alternatively, you might see if you can hire someone like Peter Johnsson to be an expert consultant for you when it comes to evaluating antique swords.

My impression is that Peter Finer is one of the better sellers on the market. However, his pieces are not cheap. And, that having been said, I'm not entirely certainly the 14th century long sword he currently has for sale is authentic. As for E-Bay, I would stay away. It's not that I can claim there has never been a genuine antique for sale on E-bay, but it's like looking for gold in a mountain of iron pyrite.
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Bruno Giordan





Joined: 28 Sep 2005

Spotlight topics: 1
Posts: 919

PostPosted: Fri 31 Aug, 2018 5:49 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Craig Peters wrote:
Lance,

It's really tough to be confident buying antiques on the market. A lot of the auction houses and other dealers as you know will sell swords that are fake- either because they lack enough awareness to carefully discern real swords from fake ones, or worse, because they just want to make a sale. I think you'll have better chances if the seller can provide metallurgical analysis for the sword from a reputable source. Alternatively, you might see if you can hire someone like Peter Johnsson to be an expert consultant for you when it comes to evaluating antique swords.

My impression is that Peter Finer is one of the better sellers on the market. However, his pieces are not cheap. And, that having been said, I'm not entirely certainly the 14th century long sword he currently has for sale is authentic. As for E-Bay, I would stay away. It's not that I can claim there has never been a genuine antique for sale on E-bay, but it's like looking for gold in a mountain of iron pyrite.


I totally concur with the above plus I add:

Ask for a certified provenance item. There must be a paper trail clearly stating former ownerships and place/date of finding. Absolutely beware of items coming from unspecified "private collections" "dismantled museum in Ziggysland" etc. There must be an undisputed provenance or you risk buying a nice replica.

Beware of fellow collectors, some, even if I don't surely mean all of them, will exploit novices in various ways. Collectors of weapons and militaria in my sad experience tenda bit too often to be jealous, or even nasty in a few borderline cases: and if they are hard line collectors, even if perfectly honest, they will just just want the best pieces for them, so forget about hints at finding the right stuff.

Go to museums and if you have the means ask by formal letter to examine original pieces. Watch them, study them, learn their proportions, read P. Johnson's articles on sword proportions or the works on sword physics available here (http://blog.subcaelo.net/ensis/)

Buy books and watch online auction catalogs just to compare items with what you see in museums

PS

Items without provenance might be illegally dug, so, even if original, their possession might lead to legal troubles in some nations, esp mine. Buy items with a sound paper trail
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Lance Morris




Location: NYC
Joined: 17 Aug 2013
Likes: 2 pages

Posts: 186

PostPosted: Thu 25 Oct, 2018 12:03 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hello gents,

This is all good information but I still feel that I don稚 know what I知 looking for - Many auction sites guarantee but I知 not sure if that痴 true or even if they know. Being an auctioneer myself I know specifically they do not know everything

Have you guys seen anything online that looks legitimate? Or from an authorized dealer?

I知 hoping for $5000 or under[/list]
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