Bridges

Well all, my wife is going to kill me but I won the bid at 1,100. I’m figuring after shipping I’ll be in 1,400. I know it is a little high but I don’t think I’ll see another in this condition for a while! Thoughts?

Here’s another from my collection, kanji saying, 三原 “Mihara”. The blade was cut down, which I’ve seen this unusual tanto style cutdown on 3 other type 19s in the wild and an odd shaped mouth on the scabbard.

Thanks, Kiipu. That’s just what I needed to know

@Bruce Pennington as requested!

Indeed it is Bruce!

Hey all, as I find unusual type 19s I will post them in this group. Today there are three. The first is a type 19 handle with no scrollwork/blossom on top of the handle. It is a blank. The second, is a police saber but it has a 10 petal cherry blossom instead of the 5 leaf. Finally, is an academy sword as referenced in the books with the inscription, “Hosei University Preparatory Department”. I’ll keep this thread up to date as I find unusual type 19s but it is not a frequent occurrence.

If you ever find one Steve let me know.

We’ve discussed this “model” at length. Check out the topic below. https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/42813-type-98-fittings-say-otherwise/

You guys will enjoy this one, found a very rare type 25 on eBay. Very high bid out of the gate, I’ll attach pics.

Hey @John C, the seller is saying this is a rare “Ko” model for cavalry. Here is the seller description: “Japanese WW1 CAVALRY LONG "KO" SWORD WITH MATCHING SCABBARD and EXCELLENT BLADE. Dated Taisho 4.3 ( March of 1915 ) Cavalry long "ko" sword is much harder to find than a more common army "otsu" sword. "ko" swords were issued to the cavalry only. No parts movement, the lock works fine, intact original leather loop.“

That’s an interesting piece. General type 19 copy? Bruce, that mon almost looks like an army cherry blossom. This isn’t a colony type 19 is it?

I’m seeing several nice type 32s pop onto the market and was wondering, is the type 32 faked? Now, I am not speaking on the Chinese saber that has the green grip as that is a key identifier that clearly separates itself from the Japanese wooden handle. I know we have discussed prior how the type 19 parade sword is generally not faked as China and the like focus their attention on more valuable swords like the 95 however, it appears, at least on eBay and the auctions I have seen, that the type 32 saber is accruing in value. This led me to wonder if the type 32 is being faked or if it is in the same boat as the 19 and, will this change in the coming years? Attached is a picture of the nicest 32 I’ve seen yet.

Hey Okan, I haven’t seen any members post guntos and this one is in magnificent condition. I’d love to see some on NHMB but no dice yet

New guy here, in my worthless opinion I don’t think it’d be worth restoring (as in sending it to a professional) as a collector will want an unmolested tang and proper fittings to accompany it and professional polishing would cost a few thousand. Like misconstrued said, it’s forever damaged so if I were you, I’d do whatever you want with it. But for future reference, it’s a general rule of thumb to not clean or repair things yourself but this may be an exception.

Wow what a find, congrats

@Brianyou should see the auctioneer’s description, quite a lengthy read. Bid starts at 3,000 USD

Matt and John, totally slipped my mind regarding the auction fee. As you pointed out, the market is all over the place. I try to look back on past bids but then inflation and market interest comes into play into the past bid and it really skews my pricing ability. I’ve never seen one like this but I’m also new to this so I don’t want to get burned. John, fair point. Money isn’t really this issue rather, I don’t want to overpay and if I were to sell down the road to fund another piece, lose money. Granted, that could happen regardless as Matt pointed out with market interest.

Hey all, I will be bidding on this very nice gunto this week and I’m expecting some heavy competition and high prices. This may be my first big purchase. You all have been doing this much longer than I, where should I stop myself? I foresee this going well over 1200 USD and maybe even into 2,000 USD. This appears to be immaculate but I don’t want to over pay. Going off the tang, I’m seeing old and new rust so I’m assuming it has been cleaned at some point.

Thought you guys would find this interesting. Were green saya a common occurrence? Auctioner states it’s 16th century.

Look @Bruce Pennington, I found another!! Hennadiy2006 is selling this type 19 police saber on eBay with a W. Interesting bird though, police crest on backstrap but army cherry blossom!

That’s the side I was airing on Scott. The mismatched parts and lack of mekugi are suspect. I wonder if swords like this make it onto the market exclusively through eBay, Etsy and other online retailers as I’m only familiar with a few legitimate reproduction companies that label their swords as reproductions.

I found an incredibly poorly titled ebay post with what you see here. Description reads, “Sword Bought (a long time ago) at Mont Saint-Michel in France (Un-sharpened).” I asked seller for more pics but no word. I have compared this to the field grade gunto in Dawsons book and this one lacks a mekugi and appears to have a naval scabbard but an army backstrap, and company grade shin gunto tassel? Further insight would help, seller is asking 500 USD. Is it possible to determine the authenticity with these two pictures?

Hey @Kiipu, here’s the link. It’s being shipped out tomorrow. Do you suspect it to be gimei? Its a parade sword, upon review everything seemed to check out. Do you see something? https://www.ebay.com/itm/265709392175?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=hYRXTkA_QDu&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=5b5Igx0HQ7e&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

I looked but couldn’t manage to find the post Bruce, but upon review I believe you’re right.

I have no idea Bruce, can’t find any info in the 2 books I have and I can’t find the Edward Tinker forum where he had a similar type 19 with a W from where you have your photo. But maybe it was a secret group of individuals who were in a cult and as a sign of devotion marked their blades….just kidding! Y’all are way in over my head, I’ll watch from the sidelines fellas.