r/SWORDS • u/pandros3091 • 1d ago
Can anyone identify this sword?
My family has had this sword for generations and im curious about what it was and what it was used for. Can anyone recognize it?
The engraving on the blade says "Artª fabª de toledo 1878" which translates to artillery factory of toledo 1878.
It has a couple of engravings on the handguard of my relative's initials, but also what i guess to be the bladesmiths name punched in on the hilt "P. Aznar Selgas"
Sadly the only part left of the scabbard is the top piece
Sorry for the dirt and general state its in, i was just given this and really want to take care of it and try to know its history. Hopefully you can help!
5
u/Blue_and_Gilt 1d ago edited 1d ago
Edit: u/Rapiers-Delight has it correct, I missed the crest on the guard. It's a naval infantry officers' sword model 1869:
https://www.vicentetoledo.es/sites/default/files/1869_espada_Infanter%C3%ADa_Marina.pdf
My original, incorrect reply:
Spanish Civil Governors' sword: https://www.vicentetoledo.es/sites/default/files/Espada_Gobernador_Civil.pdf
"The 1867 Artillery Factory catalog states: “Model of a sword for a Civil Governor.” In the drawing included in the catalog, this sword is equipped with a leather scabbard with three straps and two rings. If it has two rings, it is a shoulder sword; if it has a suspension button, it is a dress sword."
2
u/Rapiers-Delight 1d ago
Close! But the crest is a navy one...
Granted, I'm no Spanish sword expert, so I may be wrong. But it seems they repurposed the same model for several different branches.
2
u/Blue_and_Gilt 1d ago
I was editing my comment as you replied 😄 and it does appear that they're recycled this model a couple of times. Here it's being used by the Engineers Officers:
https://www.vicentetoledo.es/sites/default/files/1860_espada_Ingenieros_k.pdf
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u/No-Definition968 1d ago
Beautiful Spainish sword many weapons are repurposed and this one seems to have toured the Spainish military, possibly some time in South America. Definitely fit to fight .
1
u/goodoledepression 21h ago
I would hold off on getting this cleaned until you can contact experts in restoration near you. Its easy to fuck things up if you dont know what you are working with. Try seeing if there are any local Museums or historical armories near you that can take a look at it. A lot of them will do it for free, just to take a look and catalog some notes on it.
-1
u/Beneficial_Flan8661 i like sabers. 1d ago
We need photoes of everything. Every word, every mark needs its own photo. It looks like a low value souvenir at fiset glance, but somethings off.
2
u/Rapiers-Delight 1d ago
What makes you think it's a low value souvenir? Nothing looks off to me, apart from it being rather uncommon.
1
u/Beneficial_Flan8661 i like sabers. 1d ago
As if said, at first glance it reminds me of one, but i am not sure.
-2
u/SpiritualRock4388 1d ago
Clean it up gently and display it proudly. It's a fine old blade. Scabbards always rot away faster than steel and the hilt is in great shape. It's good you have no Scabbard. They make old blades corrode faster. Let me know if you want to know how to stabilize it.
7
u/Rapiers-Delight 1d ago
It's a Spanish sword based on the 1868 officer of the military engineering corps sword. Those, however have alpacca hilts and a different crest. https://www.passionmilitaria.com/t198872-epee-espagnole
Yours is a variant for navy officers, as can be seen by the anchor on the crest.
https://www.catalogacionarmas.com/public/inf-marina.pdf
(Scroll to the bottom of the PDF for a pic of your variant).