Ethiopian or Eritrean Shotel

[drac2k]

Thank you for the useful comments.The reason why I attributed the coin as depicting King Emanuale the third, is because of the Roman numeral III after his name on the coin.
One can also see that the coin is a later replacement for what would have been a dome like cap on the pommel.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by roanoa

It's been five years since the last posting..... Just found this GORADE up for auction. It strongly supports the suggestion that the shotel was re-forged from a sabre. Same decoration, same inscription VIVA IL RE.....Food for thoughts.

This was a great thread, very informative! but it sure seems like a lot of work to take a regular blade and rework it into a curved blade like this. Maybe its really not, but sure seems that way to me.

I have only a shotel, and a gurade shown here for comparison, and since they have basically the same type hilt, why would the effort be made to rework a blade into sickle type? unless of course it was a heirloom or trophy blade, but there again, why?

[kronckew]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

...

I have only a shotel, and a gurade shown here for comparison, and since they have basically the same type hilt, why would the effort be made to rework a blade into sickle type? unless of course it was a heirloom or trophy blade, but there again, why?

OP Blade could have originally been double edged, so they made it into a shotel. If itr had been single edged, they'd make it into a gurade.