Help Identifying a sword

Jim McDougall · 16th January 2007, 02:56 AM

Hi Alan,
You bet! Absolutely my pleasure, and I appreciate very much the opportunity to see these great weapons you keep finding!

The briquet is as you note, a most serviceable sidearm, which is probably why it was copied so consistantly by nearly every European army at the turn of the century c.1800. I have one that I have owned for over 40 years! one of my very first swords, and it has a cast cartouche in the hilt at the center of the crossguard with initials PS. I researched for many years, but never found any satisfactory possibility.
Always convinced that it was British, in later years I discovered that it may possibly be Spanish, and the wedge shaped heavily patinated blade seems consistant with Spanish colonial weapons I have seen of this period. It seems I moved on to other projects as this one seemed so inconclusive, especially with the incredibly broad diffusion of this form. There was however, a bizarre Spanish colonial hybrid with the 'Spanish motto' blade (see the thread with Matt Branch's sword) mounted with an altered briquet hilt, and loosely mounted three bar cavalry hilt of c.1820's. On the frontier in Mexico in the 19th c. and nearly unto to 20th c. there seem to be numerous extremely crudely done 'blacksmith' hybrids, and I mention this one only because of the briquet hilt component.
Unusual to see one with a scabbard! What is the blade length, details?
All best regards,
JIm

16th January 2007, 02:56 AM	#19
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,934	Hi Alan, You bet! Absolutely my pleasure, and I appreciate very much the opportunity to see these great weapons you keep finding! The briquet is as you note, a most serviceable sidearm, which is probably why it was copied so consistantly by nearly every European army at the turn of the century c.1800. I have one that I have owned for over 40 years! one of my very first swords, and it has a cast cartouche in the hilt at the center of the crossguard with initials PS. I researched for many years, but never found any satisfactory possibility. Always convinced that it was British, in later years I discovered that it may possibly be Spanish, and the wedge shaped heavily patinated blade seems consistant with Spanish colonial weapons I have seen of this period. It seems I moved on to other projects as this one seemed so inconclusive, especially with the incredibly broad diffusion of this form. There was however, a bizarre Spanish colonial hybrid with the 'Spanish motto' blade (see the thread with Matt Branch's sword) mounted with an altered briquet hilt, and loosely mounted three bar cavalry hilt of c.1820's. On the frontier in Mexico in the 19th c. and nearly unto to 20th c. there seem to be numerous extremely crudely done 'blacksmith' hybrids, and I mention this one only because of the briquet hilt component. Unusual to see one with a scabbard! What is the blade length, details? All best regards, JIm