Dan

[Dan2011]

Could anyone please give me a translation on the date of my Katana? Also a rough value? Thanks in advance

[Ray Singer]

The mei is Minamoto Kiyomaro. Almost all Kiyomaro mei we see are gimei (fake inscriptions). 

[Dan2011]

Would you know roughly how much it’s worth? I picked it up at an antiques flea not knowing a great deal about it but took a chance anyway! Thanks for your reply

[Toryu2020]

Curious to see more pictures of the nakago - show the signature the other way round - and show the nakago-jiri (tip of the tang)

[Dan2011]

Hope this helps

[ROKUJURO]

Dan,

photos can be useful to get a rough idea of an item, but usually they do not allow a confirmation of authenticity or of the value. 

In any case, photos of swords should be

- well focused and not blurry
- made with a dark, non reflective background for good contrast
- made with light from the side
- made from directly above (not at an angle)
- made with correct orientation (vertically, tip-upwards) 
- made with high resolution to see details
- showing details of the sword like BOSHI, HAMACHI, HAMON, HADA, NAKAGO JIRI etc.

[George KN]

Hi Dan, welcome to the forum!

 

Nice find if it is from the UK? Blades are getting harder to import here, so the more the better. Just a bit of a disclaimer though, I'm a novice collector, so take everything I say with a pinch of salt.
 

That being said, is that a broken kissaki (sword tip) I see? That will affect unfortunately affect the value - hopefully it hasn't gone through the hamon (which would be considered a fatal flaw https://www.Japanese...rdindex.com/kizu.htm).

 

Also what length is the nagasa (sharp bit of the blade measured from the back)? If it is shorter than ~60cm it would be considered a wakizashi and therefore worth a bit less.  https://www.Japanese...ndex.com/measure.htm

 

As others have already said, more and better quality pictures are definitely needed, but generally I like the tsuka, saya, and form of the blade, it seems initially like a nice package but in bad shape.

 

I can't tell you its actual worth though, and generally people shy away from valuing swords here (although admittedly this makes starting out and insuring things rather difficult). However as a VERY rough guide I will say I've seen few genuine katana (if it is one) in fittings go for less than ~£600 at UK auctions this year (the bottom bar for wakizashi is about half that - I am including auctions buyer fees in this too). It could be much more though if the signature is real and the sword fully restored, but currently the damaged kissaki and rust will affect its collectability considerably, so a professional polish and shinsa may be required to ascertain its full value. Unfortunately such work is expensive (£1500+), and the final value of the sword could be less than this, so may not be worth it (expert in-person advice is likely needed prior to this). It is also not currently possible from the images to tell if there are any other obvious flaws (fatal or otherwise) that are present in the sword.

I don't know how much you know about nihonto, but please don't try cleaning the sword tang, or polishing/rust removing from the sword it in any way! It will destroy any value it potentially has.