Halberd question

cel7 · 18th December 2025, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Victrix

It’s roughly forged that’s for sure but these things sometimes were. At least it doesn’t seem to have been moulded which is a good sign. Sometimes halberds were roughly produced in large numbers and then stored in armouries in case of future invasions. This could be such an example. An earlier post in this forum showed a halberd with an armoury mark on the pole from Switzerland. Other promising signs of originals are sharp tips on the spike and sharpened axe blade. If the halberd was made for Victorian decoration it would probably not have been sharpened for business.

Thanks for your reply, Victrix! Now that I see the photos here on the site, I think I see a worn-away mark in the second photo, diagonally above the five holes on the right side.

M ELEY · 19th December 2025, 06:04 AM

While out of my wheelhouse, it certainly looks like it is older than Victorian. Could this perhaps be an American halberd from the Rev War period? There were plenty of crude spontoons, halberds and linstocks made by the Continentals under stressed situations. Take a look at Neumann's 'Swords & Blades of the American Revolution' for similar examples.
Mark

Multumesc · 19th December 2025, 03:54 PM

It is very likely a halberd from southern Germany from the 16th century.
It is possible that the handle was added more recently. It is very beautiful.

cel7 · 20th December 2025, 01:26 PM

Thank you all for your responses! I've found a very interesting article. The authors examined all the halberds in the Dutch Army Museum (131 examples) and classified them into types. Definitely worth reading for anyone interested in halberds. According to the article, the example I have is a subtype II.A-2.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full...1728905#d1e141

Victrix · 20th December 2025, 04:26 PM

Thank you for posting link to interesting article. Didn’t see it before. The Waldman and Snook publications are the classics for halberds. If you search previous posts in this forum you should find the one with the Swiss halberd with the armoury mark on the pole.

CSinTX · 31st December 2025, 10:37 PM

My opinion- The main body is original. The haft and langets are recent repairs. The central spike is also probably a recent repair. Not a bad piece, if the price was right.

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19th December 2025, 06:04 AM	#2
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,229	While out of my wheelhouse, it certainly looks like it is older than Victorian. Could this perhaps be an American halberd from the Rev War period? There were plenty of crude spontoons, halberds and linstocks made by the Continentals under stressed situations. Take a look at Neumann's 'Swords & Blades of the American Revolution' for similar examples. Mark

19th December 2025, 03:54 PM	#3
Multumesc Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Romania Posts: 211	It is very likely a halberd from southern Germany from the 16th century. It is possible that the handle was added more recently. It is very beautiful.

20th December 2025, 01:26 PM	#4
cel7 Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 168	Thank you all for your responses! I've found a very interesting article. The authors examined all the halberds in the Dutch Army Museum (131 examples) and classified them into types. Definitely worth reading for anyone interested in halberds. According to the article, the example I have is a subtype II.A-2. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full...1728905#d1e141

20th December 2025, 04:26 PM	#5
Victrix Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Sweden Posts: 785	Thank you for posting link to interesting article. Didn’t see it before. The Waldman and Snook publications are the classics for halberds. If you search previous posts in this forum you should find the one with the Swiss halberd with the armoury mark on the pole.

31st December 2025, 10:37 PM	#6
CSinTX Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 237	My opinion- The main body is original. The haft and langets are recent repairs. The central spike is also probably a recent repair. Not a bad piece, if the price was right.