18th/19thC Gaucho Knife.

[Norman McCormick]

Hi Gene, Chris,
First of all many thanks for our help and interest. Re the dating, I went by the dated images, two more attached, in the paper by Abel Domenech on these knives however I do agree that upon handling the knife that early/mid 19thC seems more probable although I would like to be wrong and find that late 18thC is correct. There are no silver marks anywhere but having handled fair amounts of antique silver I have no hesitation in saying that the hilt at least is made with a relatively high silver content and solid, the scabbard may be plated but the clip and chape seem solid. I will send photos to Mr.Domenech as suggested, should be interesting I hope.
My Regards,
Norman.