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Baltimore/Philadelphia Style Silver Naval Dirk c. 1820


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This is a silver naval dirk which may have been made in Baltimore or Philadelphia. It is a style popular in the 1820’s. This dirk has no touch marks which attributes it to an American maker. The dirk is 8 ½” overall with a 5 ½” long blade. The only mark on the dirk is a tiny “5” at the top of the scabbard. The sword and cross belt plate shown are also silver. Peter Tuite in his book U.S. Naval Officers: Their Swords and Dirks states that all swords found in this configuration are all silver plated. The sword may be a Merchant Marine or Customs officer’s sword. The cross belt plate is made of coin silver and depletion plated. I will write up the sword and cross belt plate at a later date. I have included them with the dirk since all were silver and naval regulations required these pieces to be yellow mounted.

 

 

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