A 16th C Hand and a Half Sword
Recently purchased from a US auction. Previously from the William Fagan collection. 130cm total length. 4.5cm wide at the base of the blade. Fairly massive yet light weight for it's size. Blade somewhat flexible and still sharp. Does anyone recognize the crest or three stamps in the blade? Any idea as to the date of the style? Other similar examples with hexagonal blades? It reminds me of some two-hander blades. Could the grip be original? Any comments are welcome.

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Casey,

What a beautiful piece. Thank you for posting. For your sake and just for general interest, I sure hope it's authentic!

Though I have a few original sixteenth and seventeenth century swords, I have no insights. I'm still a noob relative to the experts on this forum and I look forward to the replies, especially about that grip.

What is in those three small marks: wax residue maybe? Have you tried a toothpick or similar soft pointy tool to see if they can be cleaned out?

Where in TX are you? I'm in Austin.

Cheers,
Chris
Re: A 16th C Hand and a Half Sword
Casey S. wrote:
Does anyone recognize the crest or three stamps in the blade?

This kind of stamp appears on a variety of blades from the 15th and 16th centuries (and maybe later?), and seem to indicate an Italian origin. There are variations in the exact shape, and sometimes one or two stamps appear only, but the triple stamp seems common. Sometimes they have been described as "millrinds" because of the similarity to the heraldic charge.

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Chris, I think it may be wax. Ill try to clean it out. I'll also shoot you a PM.

Mark, thank you for the info. I found a number of swords with similar marks, in the Palace of the Doge of Venice.

Compliments to Carl Koppeschaar for his excellent pictures. https://www.flickr.com/photos/98015679@N04/albums/72157658198977535/page2
Casey S. wrote:
Chris, I think it may be wax. Ill try to clean it out. I'll also shoot you a PM.

Mark, thank you for the info. I found a number of swords with similar marks, in the Palace of the Doge of Venice.

Compliments to Carl Koppeschaar for his excellent pictures. https://www.flickr.com/photos/98015679@N04/albums/72157658198977535/page2


Don’t try to clean out the marks. They are latten (brass) or possibly even gold inlays and a sign of quality!
Could you tell me how much it weighs?
Thanks
Leonardo Fontenla wrote:
Could you tell me how much it weighs?
Thanks


I do not have an accurate scale but the bathroom scale reads about 1.7kg.

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