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United States Marine Sword?


mikedon
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Can anyone help me identify this United States Marine NCO sword? It looks well made. The blade length is 28 3/4". It is 15/16" wide and almost 1/4" thick at the hilt. It is marked "United States Marines" on one side only. It has no other markings except the star. The throat and drag are brass, the scabbard rings are steel.

I know nothing about these and would appreciate any help.

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This is not a USMC sword, but rather a rather poor copy a post-WWI M1859 Marine NCO sword, probably from India. There is virtually nothing correct about it. The pommel shape and decoration is wrong. Genuine examples have a rounder dome and a neat, clear band of laurel leaves around the bottom edge, not ill-defined squiggles. The guard is way too thick and the decoration too crude. The ricasso is at least twice as long as on genuine examples. The blade lacks the fuller found on the originals. The tip is wrong, but could be a result of repointing of a broken tip. The scabbard is wrong in both design and materials. The post-WWI M1859 features a brass-mounted leather scabbard with two mounts, the top with a frog stud and a drag with a blade, not just a simple chape.

 

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Reschenk,

 

Thanks for your detailed explanation and expert analysis of this sword. You not only answered the original question that mikedon asked but you gave him your reasons for declaring the sword a fake. This is the right way to explain your answer in such a way that we can all learn from the post.

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