Can anybody help me identify a civil war sword?

Question

I ran across a civil war sword recently for $200. Should I buy it? It looks like it has been taken care of and the blade has been wrapped to protect it. It was made by W. Clauberg and a small knight/soldier is near the handle. On the other side of the sword, the union shield is encircled with 13 stars. The length of the blade is engraved. The handle is covered in what looks to be fish skin and there is a twine/wire wrapped around it. It looks pretty nice over all. It does not have the scabbard with it though.

Does any one know anything about this sword? I've looked all over the internet, but I can't seem to find anything about the 13 stars and shield. I'm curious to see how much it's really worth and where it came from. It looks like it might be a great piece of history of own.

Is it worth $200? It's really neat and it looks like a good buy. But...I don't know a lot about this kind of thing.

Any help?

Answer 1

Always double check to see if its authentic...

Answer 2

I don't know if it isn't a reproduction sword, but I've attached a few links to show you Civil War era swords.  most were of simple design, but a few--like the doctor's sword--were elaborate.  

Think about whether or not you like the sword enough to spend that sum on it, and that should be the real deciding factor.  If you like it enough to spend that money on it, you won't regret it if it doesn't turn out to be what the seller claims.  If you're only buying it for historical value (or monetary value) you should maybe rethink it anyway.

I hope this helps.

Answer 3

If the sword is truly authentic then it is worth considerable more than 200.00 dollars. It's obvious that the gentleman selling the sword does not have provence (sp) which could authenticate the weapon. Check with some of the civil war relic dealers or museums. Swords and firearms are being defarbed and passed off as relics. New replica's can cost about 129.00-159.00. My gut instinct is that it is not a relic. You mentioned wired wrapped fishskin, it sounds like it might be a naval officers sword many of which were paid for out of pocket. Their handles were often wrapped with skate or sharkskin. I've included a website that lists a relic 1852 Clauberg/solinger sword. There are several pictures showing marks to look for. Hope this helps

Answer 4

If it has a small soldier near the handle then I would say that is is most probably a fraternal sword. Not specifically a civil war sword. They are quite common and you can find many different ones belonging to such groups as the knights of columbus, the Masons, Odd fellows, even the VFW had swords. Most sell for no more than $200 and if it is what I think, he would have it priced on the high side.

This site might have a picture of what you are referring to:

http://members.aol.com/machood/frat.html