This Fine Relic Has Been Sold. Thank you!   AMERICAN SILVER HILT HANGER - HUNTING OR SHORT SWORD, Ca 1775 -1800 Possibly Philadelphia Made Presented is a finely crafted silver hilt hanger, hunting sword or dirk from Ca. 1775 with simple knob capstan and finely executed spiral-channeled turned “twisted” ebony grip with silver band and small base ferrule above a pierced open cross guard with two openings on either side. The blade is unmarked with narrow fuller along the top edge terminating in a 5 3/4” false edge with a wide fuller beneath. There is no scabbard. Overall length measures 22 1/2”; hilt 4 1/2” The elegant ebony turned spiral hilt and silver 1/8" banding is representative of the American Colonial Period. The pierced open cross guard is 4" broad and 1 3/4" wide at the widest. The interesting blade is of a unique design of which only a few examples are known to exist. There is a break in one of the cross guard braces, but the guard is tight. There are two small imperfection on the surface of the hilt. The blade is tight in the hilt. HILT: Turned Ebony with silver banded channel is a brownish black in color and there is a chip right at the capstan pommel cap. The white arrow below points to this imperfection. There are numerous examples of this style grip in “Swords & Blades of the American Revolution” by George C. Neumann. The closest may be on page 98, section 98 The hilt is oval shaped, 4 1/2" L which includes the 5/16" fuller. The grip is about 1 1/4" W and 3/4" thick at the largest part of the strands. The silver band which spirals around the strands is 1/8" W. COUNTER - CROSS GUARD: Is of the pierces open style of the period with four braces, two long and two short. One of the short ones is broken at the ferule, but the guard is strong. “The American Eagle-Pommel Sword” by E. Andrew Mowbray has a picture of this style cross guard on page 113. BLADE: Is very sharp, but does not show any sharpening marks. It has some light surface rust and tiny spotting. The front of the blade is a dark grey color on both sides. The blade when seen at first hand is beautifully made and appears much nicer then in the pictures. You can tell by the length and shape of the fullers, see below, that it was made for this hilt. There is a small example of this style blade in on page 334, item 66 of “The American Sword, 1775-1945“, by Harold E. Peterson. FULLERS: There is a small fuller which runs from the cross guard to where the false edge begins. They are both 1/4" W. The large fuller starts 3/4" below the crossguard and runs 15 5/8" which is about 1/4" behind the point. The large fuller has a taper at both ends so that the blade shows it was made for this hilt. The arrow below points to the start of the false edge. The lower arrow point to the end of the wide fuller. BLADE DIMENSIONS: Width 1 1/16" Thickness 1/4" Length 16 1/2" Wide Fuller: 15 1/8" L x 7/16" W Small fuller: 10 3/8" L x 1/4" W False edge: 5 3/4" L x 1/4" W The white arrow is pointing to the second small imperfection. Front of guard shows the terminus of the wide fuller, and the break in the cross brace. This rare sword offers a unique opportunity to acquire a truly historic silver craft of great skill by done by an unknown hand of the American Revolution REFERENCES: The American Eagle-Pommel Sword by E. Andrew Mowbray The American Sword, 1775-1945, by Harold E. Peterson Swords & Blades of the American Revolution by George C. Neumann OUR UNCONDITIONAL NO NONSENSE GUARANTEE: If not completely satisfied with your purchase it may be returned within five days of receipt in its original packaging if without damage. Return items must be insured for their full value. Only a prior email authorization from us for the return is required. Shipping charges are included in this offer if an error is due to our fault within the continental United States. FLAT RATE INSURED SHIPPING to 48 contiguous States $30.00 International buyers welcome, but must inquire first. You are responsible for knowing the import laws of your country. We have satisfied customers in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Estonia, England, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Malaysia, Martinique, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Nova Scotia, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, USVI and the Eastern Caribbean. ACCEPTED FORMS OF PAYMENT are Bank wire transfer, cashier's check, money order, or personal check in which case the item will be held until cleared. No credit cards or PayPal accepted on this item. Copyright 2013 - 2011 by Land And Sea Collection™, All Rights Reserved