Flea Market Sword - HELP!

[dahofman]

Hi guys! This is my first post to treasurenet. I absolutely love this site! I have been following the site for many years now. Today, I went to a flea market/fall festival in Central Indiana. While walking around, I saw a small sword that caught my eye. Often time, I will see swords and they look like cheap movie props. This one looked noticeably different. It is roughly 20 inches long and the blade is approximately 14 1/2 inches. On the top of the knuckle guard there is a star carved into the circle (at the base of the blade.) It has the word T -E -X-A-S carved around the star. I assume this is the lonestar of texas. At the base of the blade, there are a few identifying marks. One states "B&G CO" and the other states "TEXAS CS CRU?NANCE ARTILLARY." When I began examining the sword, I wondered if the "CS" stood for Confederate States. I tried to talk to the seller, but he didn't know anything about it. I know swords can be reproduced and faked. Does anyone have any information on this sword or on whether it may be legitimate? I only paid $40.00 for it, so if it is fake it is not an extreme loss. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Regards,

dahofman

 

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[david680]

CRU?NANCE would be ORDNANCE, just some worn lettering.

 

[david680]

Boyle & Gamble

Located on south Sixth Street, one block from the old Virginia Armory, the above were in operation throughout the war and made swords of all kinds. They also made knives and bayonets. The distinction between the two firms is not known although it appears that Boyle & Gamble sold their property privately to individuals and to such military outfitters as Mitchell & Tyler while Boyle, Gamble & MacFee were strictly under government contract. Judging from survival ratio this was a very large operation. Principals were: Edwin Boyle, Gamble & E. MacFee. The pommels of the Boyle & Gamble swords are quite distinctive in shape and style of decoration. Another distinctive feature is the pronounced "notch" on the top of the pommel, this feature is only known to exist on the Boyle & Gamble swords. "Many of the B & G swords manufactured are marked within the underside of the guard showing the firm name and address, this marking is noted on Staff & Foot Officer's as well as Cavalry Sabres.

William Albaugh, A Photographic Supplement to Confederate Swords

 

[david680]

Just a little research there, a few pics I seen suggest that yours does resemble a B&G sword, but thats to my untrained and fairly ignorant eye. There will be some along later that can help you out more.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Dahofman, welcome to the "What Is It?" forum, the best place on the internet for getting relics CORRECTLY identified. I'm sorry to have to greet you with disappointing news. That "Confederate Boyle & Gamble" sword is 100%-definitely a fake.

I use the word fake in my posts ONLY about a modern-made "relic" which was manufactured with the deliberate intention of deceiving people into believing it is a genuine Original (not Reproduction) item from the civil war era. That is clearly the case with this sword. Genuine Original swords made by the firm of Boyle & Gamble of Richmond Virginia were marked with a very different lettering style than the lettering we see on your sword. Yours is marked in what is called "plain block" lettering. That marking, saying "B&G CO / TEXAS CS ARTLLERY ORDNANCE" is absolutely fake -- intentionally done to defraud.

In addition to being an incorrect lettering style for Boyle & Gamble swords... absolutely NO genuine Confederate swords were marked with identifications like "Texas CS Artillery" or anything similar. Such markings are ALWAYS a giant red warning flag that the item is a fake. I should also mention, in my nearly 40 years as a civil war relics dealer, I've seen many GENUINE civil war swords, and bowie knives, and belt-buckles, etc, which somebody has "recently" added markings like "CSA 1862" onto, in order to defraud un-educated collectors. Sometimes the relic will be genuine but have a faked marking. ALWAYS remember the old saying from ancient Rome... "Caveat Emptor"... which is Latin for "Let the buyer beware." Show the marking to at least three professionally-certified experts and heed their analysis before spending more than $25 to buy the item.

 

[Builds.The.Fire]

There's a lot of this sort of thing, especially with anything Confederate. Some are obvious, others are subtle.

 

[dahofman]

Thank you for all of your help everyone! I was a little disappointed to read that it is a reproduction, but I have a neat sword that I can display! Thanks again!

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Hell, even as a Fake, i would have paid the 40 bucks for it, its a cool display piece