1843 Artillery Sword and Belt
Watch
GUEST:
I brought in this sword that's been in the family for at least four generations now that belonged to, I think, my great-great-grandfather. He was in the Spanish-American War, and I think he lied about his age. I think he was 15 and he enlisted, and he was in Cuba. And so we have a lot of medals and some letters that he wrote and watercolors that he did when he was in Cuba. This sword's just kind of been with that collection passed down through the family ever since. So our assumption has just been that it was his sword because there's photos of him on a horse in Cuba, so...
APPRAISER:
So he was a cavalryman?
GUEST:
I believe so, yeah.
APPRAISER:
Well, these are the standard markings for this style sword, and it's a model 1832 short artillery. And it was made in 1843. The initials that are beside the 1843 production date are "J.C.B." And that's for Joseph C. Bragg, who was an inspector for the U.S. government from 1841 to 1849. And he's the guy that said this is worthy to be used by the U.S. government.
APPRAISER:
They'd inspect every sword?
GUEST:
They did, and it had to pass muster. And a lot of time if they didn't, they went to state contracts, smaller contracts, or were sold privately. That one is for William A. Thornton. And they would inspect the handles and the blades, and it was done at different times. On the back side of the blade, we have the mark of Nathan P. Ames. It's marked "N.P. Ames, Springfield"-- meaning Springfield, Massachusetts. And they were one of the premier sword makers during the 1800s. There are several research places where you can go and see the actual production date of this sword because Ames kept meticulous records. So they can tell you to within a hundred swords how many they made that year.
GUEST:
Oh, wow, that's great.
APPRAISER:
Do you know when the Spanish-American War was?
GUEST:
I seem to recall 1882 or maybe '72.
APPRAISER:
1898 is when it started.
GUEST:
1898, oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
So this sword was made 55 years before that. So it probably wasn't worn by him. And another thing that lets us know that, this is an artilleryman's saber. It's a short artillery saber. They actually manufactured this style on up until the 1860s. And then they realized if you're this close, you're too close.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
The cool thing about this sword is that you not only have a beautiful sword that still has a nice age on it, beautiful cast brass handle, you have the scabbard and the belt. And did you notice that the scabbard is a completely different type leather than the belt ring?
GUEST:
Sure.
APPRAISER:
This is a black leather that's been tanned. This is an oil-treated leather.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And it's called buff leather. And you don't see this a lot these days. And it's because the oil that they would use to treat it was often times whale oil. And if you mix it with certain solvents, it can spontaneously combust later on.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
So not a lot of people use the buff leather after the Civil War. You see it occasionally, but not a lot. And most of the time, when it dries out, it'll break very easily, just like that. And this one-- spectacular. It's beautiful. It's still pliable. And that's one thing, when we're out west, like here in Billings, the climate is just perfect for it. What do you think it's worth?
GUEST:
I don't know. I was thinking, you know, $800 maybe. That was, like, a high guess just being optimistic.
APPRAISER:
Well, you just bought the sword. Now let's talk about the sword with the scabbard and with the belt. On today's market, on a retail market, the sword, the scabbard and the belt would bring between $3,000 and $3,500.
GUEST:
Wow, that's amazing. That's great.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
