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Gold Painted Sword Scabbards


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johnbrown1856

Hi. I am new to the forum and also new to collecting Civil War items. In the past; I never found civil war items "in the wild" until recently. Lately, I seem to stumble across an original item every few months at estate sales and on craigslist.

 

Over the past year I've picked up three sabers. Two of them are M1860's and the third is an M1840 artillery saber. Unfortunately someone replaced the missing handle of the M1840 with a reproduction M1860 handle and guard. It was my first "original" saber and I mis-identified it as a cavalry saber. For the price, I thought it was a good value even with the obvious reproduction handle.

 

The scabbard of the artillery saber and one of the cavalry sabers have been painted gold. I am guessing this is from a GAR hall or for an anniversary / veterans day parade etc. As I mentioned; I am new to collecting ACW items. My quandary is: As a collector; my instinct tells me to the leave the gold paint as it was probably applied by an ACW veteran. Perusing swords for sale on the internet; I've only seen one or two with gold paint on the scabbard. It makes me wonder if it is common to run across a painted scabbard and, if it is a common theme, are collectors removing the paint?

 

I appreciate any insight you can give me.

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Common to see the GAR items painted scabbards.

 

I have even seen a couple muskets and trap doors with a gold wash/paint on the metal.

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I have been collecting ACW items for over 30 years. It is my understanding that many relics were painted silver at the 25th anniversary and more at the 50th were painted gold. I have a few anniversary swords that were painted I don't see them often and they don't command a premium as a result of the paint. I am sure that there are those out there that have removed the paint. I am not and will not be one of them. Just my 2 cents.

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skypilot6670

GAR hall painted scabards are not that common. Some early battlefield pick up artillery were also painted. The paint on a relic is part of that pieces history. Having said that the relic is yours and you should do as you please with it. The rub comes when it’s time to sell it. You should advise the buyer of any and all improvements and this will kill the deal with some people.So I guess my advice is do what you want with the piece and treat potential buyers as you would want to be treated.Doing that you will develop a good reputation in this hobby and that is priceless. Mike

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Common to see the GAR items painted scabbards.

 

I have even seen a couple muskets and trap doors with a gold wash/paint on the metal.

"I have even seen a couple muskets and trap doors with a gold wash/paint on the metal"

 

That's interesting, for the honor guards of a organization? (what were individual GARs called, Posts?)

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"I have even seen a couple muskets and trap doors with a gold wash/paint on the metal"

 

That's interesting, for the honor guards of a organization? (what were individual GARs called, Posts?)

 

 

I would guess they were honor guards or parades.There use to be a GAR Post here locally.I may be able to come up with a calling card with the post number on it.

 

The building I walked by it on the way to school as a kid in the early 70s.Even then I always wanted to look in the building to see what was there...THe building was eventually torn down and the new VFW Hall sits on the site currently.

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"I have even seen a couple muskets and trap doors with a gold wash/paint on the metal"

 

That's interesting, for the honor guards of a organization? (what were individual GARs called, Posts?)

 

We had two Posts here.

 

Post No. 47 and Post No.193

 

47 just went by the Number and 193 went by A Rowley.(named for Albert Rowley, a respected citizen of Rutland Twp., whose remains were left at Pleasant Hill, LA.)

 

 

Many posts were named after a certain soldier,officer,resident(from the same area) who was killed or died of sickness etc or noted General from the War.sometimes named after a Fort as well.

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GAR hall painted scabards are not that common. Some early battlefield pick up artillery were also painted. The paint on a relic is part of that pieces history. Having said that the relic is yours and you should do as you please with it. The rub comes when it’s time to sell it. You should advise the buyer of any and all improvements and this will kill the deal with some people.So I guess my advice is do what you want with the piece and treat potential buyers as you would want to be treated.Doing that you will develop a good reputation in this hobby and that is priceless. Mike

 

 

Mike

 

I agree

 

I should have stated it was a common practice at the time by the GAR Posts to paint items.

 

Today the examples are not commonly seen but do surface.

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skypilot6670

Hey Ron , good morning . I understood completely what you meant and would have commented but I had confidence that you also understood. ( now Ill step away from the aluminum foil , that is still funny ). The talk of painted relics in this thread helped me decide on a purchase Id been contemplating. Ive been picking up civil war artillery lately. Horses soldier in Gettysburg had an early Schenkl battlefield pick up that was painted silver and I purchased it yesterday. (Wess Small gave me a great price,thanks Wess)post-137056-0-61487700-1529057751_thumb.jpegpost-137056-0-89740100-1529057839_thumb.jpeg

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Many years ago an old Civil War collector saw a painted sword I had on my table and asked if I knew why it was painted...I said not really and he replied "Gas Light"...He went on to explain that GAR halls and most public buildings were lit with gas and the paint reflected the light...Hung along the walls with fresh paint and gas lighting I am sure the GAR halls would have been quite the sight during meetings and meals...The swords and artifacts would have been brilliant eye candy for the veterans and you can imagine young boys seeing those trophies gleaming on the walls.

 

That explanation was the only one I've heard that really made sense why there were so many painted objects from the war.

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Steve Rogers

I'll have to go with commemorative motivation on the paint, whether the fiftieth anniversary or a less precise celebration. I have had a number of pieces, including canteens, that came out of private estates and were painted gold. I rather think it was regarded as a nice touch in hanging it on the parlor wall.

 

As for removing the paint, I would leave it alone since you would then be merely making a generic cavalry saber out of one that shows an interesting individual history.

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