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Confederate Sword or Wishful Thinking ?


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I picked this item up in the Richmond area ;it looked like the typical 1831 French Short Artillery sword, barely in better than relic condition, but it was  inexpensive so I bought it.

When I got it home, I looked more closely at it and I think that I saw the letters "SC." This led me to 3 possible theories:

1). Its just an 1831 French Sword and the "SC," doesn't mean anything

2). Its just an 1831 French Sword and some idiot tried to put "CS," on it and got it backwards

3) and the least likely, but one can hope that the "SC," stands for South Carolina and it is a Confederate Sword

All opinions would be welcomed!

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1 hour ago, drac2k said:

I picked this item up in the Richmond area ;it looked like the typical 1831 French Short Artillery sword, barely in better than relic condition, but it was  inexpensive so I bought it.

When I got it home, I looked more closely at it and I think that I saw the letters "SC." This led me to 3 possible theories:

1). Its just an 1831 French Sword and the "SC," doesn't mean anything

2). Its just an 1831 French Sword and some idiot tried to put "CS," on it and got it backwards

3) and the least likely, but one can hope that the "SC," stands for South Carolina and it is a Confederate Sword

All opinions would be welcomed!

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DSC_0001.JPG

DSC_0002.JPG

DSC_0003.JPG

i'm sorry to say this is not an official SC stamp

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I was pretty sure that was the case; any chance that was an unofficial stamp such as militia, local guard, etc. ( I'm still clutching to straws)?

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digi-shots

Interesting artillery sword.  Above the date and to the left I think I see letters in a half circle.. P H I (Philadelphia?)

F9D0466D-14AB-495D-9592-612D9FA1B911.jpeg

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Keep " clutching to straws" - it's part of what makes this hobby so exciting. Still a nice sword since the price was right.

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albatrosdva

Fwiw the State of Connecticut stamped their firearms SC. I don't know if that goes for all weapons. Could still be a Civil War import.

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That is a very interesting bit of information; did the "SC." stand for the inspector's initials ?

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albatrosdva
7 hours ago, drac2k said:

That is a very interesting bit of information; did the "SC." stand for the inspector's initials ?

No SC is literally State of Connecticut 

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I continue to this day see these Artillery swords from France, being pushed as "Civil War Imports " !! They were around when I started looking in 1968 and saw one last year at a local gun show. Were they ever brought into the country officially ?? 

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Thanks for the information albatrosdva ;do you have any examples of the "SC," that you could post.

In regards to the French 1831 swords being imported for the Civil War, even though I've been hearing about this being the case for years,, I'm not sure that I've ever seen one with documented proof as actually having been used as such.

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Thanks VM188, that was a very informative post !

So to summarize the "SC," could mean the State of Connecticut or South Carolina and there wasn't any standardized script for the initials.......................so basically  unless you dig the item up wrapped in a Confederate Flag, from a battlefield, the sword  origin is just a guess.

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albatrosdva
14 minutes ago, drac2k said:

Thanks VM188, that was a very informative post !

So to summarize the "SC," could mean the State of Connecticut or South Carolina and there wasn't any standardized script for the initials.......................so basically  unless you dig the item up wrapped in a Confederate Flag, from a battlefield, the sword  origin is just a guess.

I think we can go a bit further than that. Standard French inspection marks do lot look like that. I think it unlikely to be the British marking mentioned in the above discussion. Whether other countries used these marks I do not know but clearly Connecticut and SC used similar marks. The marks do appear to be period. I don't think conclusions can be drawn without further research but it seems to merit further research.

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Thanks, agreed . You and the Forum have certainly pointed me in the right direction.

 

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