Sad ending to the story as I had to return the Type 98 sword to the seller in New Jersey. Upon arrival, I saw that the seller had packaged the sword in one UPS Express tube. The problem is, the tube was 38 inches long. The sword was 40 inches.
The sword was damaged as expected as the Tsuba was sticking a good two inches outside of the box. Yes, there was bubble wrap around the exposed portion, but damage still occurred. The seller was just as heartbroken as I was and gladly accepted my return for full refund.
A NOTE TO ALL, I am still looking for my first Officer Gunto. If you have a nice one in your collection that you would consider sharing with a new collector, I would be interested in hearing from you. My budget is around $1,500 with preference to one having a tassel. A USA sale would be most convenient.
Kindest regards.