Conway S

And then this Mantetsu also from the same seller only sells for a modest $1100 even though these mounts are far more rare than the Type 98. I think certain eBay sellers have developed a status of being "trusted", whether this status is deserved or not it depends on the particular seller. This consequently inflates the prices they receive online. Mantetsu and Type 95 also seem to be items of interest for WW2 collectors that are not solely focused on collecting Japanese swords. https://www.ebay.com/itm/235403345246 Conway

Yes I saw that too. The three seppa doesn't seem right...Praying hands emoji for the person that bought it. That's more than I would be pay for one, at least in that condition. Conway

Also odd that there are two seppa on the front end of the tsuba. One is the correct style for NCO swords while the other appears to have a smooth edge. Conway

This beauty was on eBay for a while, but recently sold. I would have loved to have this one in my collection. I thought I'd post it here for reference since a German made blade is always a nice feature. There's a smilier General's grade with a Clemen & Jung Solingen blade in Dawson's book from the Plimpton collection. https://www.ebay.com/itm/256453466500 Conway

Greetings, It looks "real" to me, but something about these listings always seem a bit off. Maybe it's the glare and grainy quality in each photo. Plus the seppa are in the wrong order. Looks like the saya had two different serial numbers at one point. https://www.ebay.com/itm/235514477237 Conway

@Nicholas Is your sword also posted on eBay? You’ve posted some nice stuff recently. Conway

@Kiipu 聚宝盆 - jù bǎo pén - Treasure Pot 生意兴隆 - shēngyì xīnglóng - "May your business prosper " or something along those lines. Conway

@William Jennings This one was posted recently on the forum. Are you sure you're communicating with the actual owner? In the thread below, @Kiipu makes a good point about the handle being a replacement. As for the mismatched serial numbers, does it bother you? There's no shortage of matched examples out there. Conway oe

If I am not mistaken, somewhere in the 159,000 range they switched to the iron tsuba which they then continued into the 162,000 range. Conway

I am not sure they were faking these Type 95s back in 1960! The manufacturer's corporate logo is on the left hand side (Iijima). The stamps John C. refers to are on the right side. The center inspection stamp is a "To" as in Tokyo （東) and refers to the arsenal which had oversight of production. It's also the same stamp on the blade following the serial number. Although the mismatched serial numbers are a downside, it is not uncommon. Looks to have retained a good deal of the paint on the handle. Conway

Dan, The sword next to the leather covered one is a "souvenir sword" made for US Soldiers stationed in post-war Japan. These came with a mix of Army and Navy style components. One give away is the Army style haiken or belt hanger on the scabbard and the Navy style tsuba. See the discussion of these here: The one in the last photo is a WW2 Kai Gunto (Navy sword). More pictures of the blade and tang would be needed to be sure, but it is most likely a wartime produced stainless steel blade as opposed to a traditionally made Japanese sword. The fittings are of average quality given the wood lacquered scabbard. Nicer ones are covered in ray/shark skin. If you look carefully you can definitely find good condition souvenir swords for less than $1100 on eBay and at militaria shows. $1100 for the other kai gunto is not necessarily a bad price, but if you only have those photos to go on maybe hold off. What are your collecting goals? Conway

Also the shape of the kissaki is not as pronounced a as a real blade in my opinion. Still a cool piece though.

Now that I look at it more closely, I think it might be a light weight gunto with the acid etched hamon as opposed to a zohei-to. Conway

Saw this zohei-to on eBay today with what looks like pinned kabutogane (without the pins) and the 15-stamen manchukuoan plum blossoms on the fuchi. It also looks to have that odd little star stamp/unknown kanji that appears from time to time on early Type 98. See below. Conway Reference to the odd stamp: Link to listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/116106811506

Steve, This sword was posted on NMB a few weeks ago. See below. It’s been on eBay for a long time. https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/48056-josharic/ Conway

Steve, I would say $200 as a value for estate purposes. I feel you'd be hard pressed to sell this one at a higher price due to its condition. Complete colonial Hannin-level swords sell between $500-$1200 depending on the colonial administration, the quality of the sword's components and condition. The Sonin-level and Chokunin-level swords command higher prices. With these types of swords condition is king. Conway

Looks like the Hannin level official's saya with the boar's eye cutouts on the brass fittings. Black leather was also common on colonial sword saya. This sword has a European style blade as opposed to the Japanese style chrome plated blade with habaki and acid-etched temper line common to colonial swords. I have not seen this particular backstop before. As Bruce pointed out it could be a colonial sword without distinction to a particular location. Conway

The one in the eBay link is 東161475. It's late IIJIMA production. Conway

Well you have a good study piece and if you look around on the forum you will find lots of other color variations on type 95 saya. Black and gold seem to be the most common non-standard variations with lots of discussion on when the paint may have been applied. The mysteries are one of the things that make collecting fun. Conway

Here's one just posted on eBay with a similar paint job on the saya. Note the tsuba is also overpainted with this silver/white color. Japanese Sword Army NCO WW2 Type 95 ? Samurai / Katana / Shin Gunto ? STAMPS Conway

Greetings, I couldn't find the thread where @Stegel posted the comparison photo of the variations in saya color or I would post this there. It has some good wear to it and from the pictures posted I could not see any other paint beneath the brown. I asked the seller for better pictures of the throat to see if it was painted green and/or had a matching serial number. Alas, it sold before the seller sent the pictures. From the pictures of the fuchi, it looks like it only has the 東 and no visible Iijima logo or Tokyo First arsenal stamp. Any thoughts on whether this brown is original? Conway Antique/Vintage WW2 Japanese Sword

@tbonesullivan I'm glad you posted this sword. I have one with the same mei also dated February 1945. I was also stumped by the character after Katsu. Mine has a Gifu stamp above the mei and a Gifu stamp on the mune. Thanks @mecox for confirming. Conway