ORIG CIVIL WAR ERA BRITISH NAVAL DIRK w/ SCABBARD SEE DESCRIPTION AND PHOTOS for Sale

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ORIG CIVIL WAR ERA BRITISH NAVAL DIRK w/ SCABBARD SEE DESCRIPTION AND PHOTOS For Sale

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ORIG CIVIL WAR ERA BRITISH NAVAL DIRK w/ SCABBARD SEE DESCRIPTION AND PHOTOS :
$249.99

ORIGINAL CIVIL WAR ERA BRITISH NAVAL DIRK w/ SCABBARD
SEE DESCRIPTION AND PHOTOS

MID 19th CENTURY BRITISH NAVAL DIRK& SCABBARD

NOT PRISTINE BUT STILL PRETTY

Please bear with me - long description and story here but info you need to have;

First, condition;this dirk has been modified for some unknown reason, apparently during it\'s time of use. The acorn finials at the ends of the guard have been removed (maybe because they snagged on stuff?). The little latch on the scabbard is MIA, apparently intentionally removed due to file marks on the guard. The dirk shows A LOT of wear - etching is almost gone (too bad because the makers name and address are etched into the ricasso but not readable). The fact that it\'s etched and not engraved places it mid-19th century. Later ones are engraved. There is pitting on the blade, especially toward the tip. The brass scabbard tip is pushed in not allowing the dirk blade to completely seat into the scabbard. I never bothered to try to correct it because I displayed them separated. The guard is a bit loose, grip is solid. The sharkskin grip shows normal wear but is dirty and except for a 1/2\" chip out of the obverse side is all there. You can see a bright blue green spot in the photos- that\'s just verdigris in a hole for the scabbard latch. BUT...she\'s still a pretty little thing. Obviously won\'t appeal to the purists but a pretty decent display example for the $. Pristine examples would run you $1500 US and up.

Now, the story;

I purchased this dirk and scabbard some years back from an seller. Somehow it seems EVERY ONE of his military items are identified to some illustrious figure. This one is no exception. His story (and it\'s fairly detailed) was that it belonged to a Confederate Naval Lieutenant who was killed at the Battle of Mobile Bay. The guydid existand took a direct hit from a 13\" shell. But it\'s easy enough to tag a name to a relic which doesn\'t account for much without solid ties. His claim of a solid tie is a letter from the family stating that the dirk had been owned by him and why they were selling it.I CONSIDER THE ENTIRE STORY TO BE 100% BS!!And here\'s why; (there\'s a whole packet of documents with this and I\'ll include it to the buyer) but if you compare the dealer\'s hand signed receipt and the signature on the family letter-they\'re the same!!.

Now I never really cared much about that. I didn\'t buy it for the ID. I bought it for what it is. I think it\'s entirely possible that this dirk did see Confederate Navy service. CSN officers did use some British naval swords so it\'s possible some dirks were smuggled in through the blockade and used by them too. The British Navy NEVER would have tolerated modifying a very symbolic regulation dirk like this! It\'s etched so it\'s Civil War era or earlier. And who knows, maybe it really did belong to this fellow and the dealer just filled in some documentation blanks?...

The dirk measures 19\" overall length and has a14-1/2\" blade which is 1\" wide.

There is an official British Navy regulation pattern number for these dirks but I\'m not sure what it is- maybe 1856?

WHAT I\'M SAYING IS THAT ALTHOUGH I INCLUDE ALL THIS PAPERWORK WITH THE DIRK PLEASE DON\'T BUY IT FOR THE I.D. OR PUT A LOT OF STOCK IN THE STORY UNTIL YOU CAN LOOK INTO IT FOR YOURSELF.

CONDITION IS AS SHOWN IN PHOTOS SO PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE REVIEWED THEM ALL.

ALL SALES FINAL - RETURNS NOT ACCEPTED!

PAYMENT DUE WITHIN 5 DAYS OF SALE.

I WILL SELL AND SHIP OVERSEAS ON THIS ITEM.