Hi! Whilst clearing out the loft recently I came across my old tsuba which I have had for many years and was given to me by my father. I believe he owned it for many many years as well. I would like to know (if it is possible to tell from photos) if it is genuine, if it is worth anything (I'm not selling, just for peace of mind or insurance) and how best to preserve it. It's been wrapped in paper with a silica gel packet and stored in a plastic zip bag for as long as I have owned it. It looks in good condition aside from the gold leaf mostly missing. Both myself and my father only handled it with gloves. I have no documents with it. I was thinking of wall mounting it in a glass-fronted frame, is this advisable? For the preservation of iron, I mainly use ACF-50 (on Land Rovers and motorcycles) Would this work on tsuba if gently applied or would it affect the gold leaf? It would also be great if anyone could provide some information about the tsuba, even a date range I can start to research into. I can provide more information, close-ups or alternative angles if required. Many thanks in advance for any information Tim
