Another Ames Centurion Pommel Mexican War Period
Jul 23, 2019 5:56:06 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2019 5:56:06 GMT
I can't help myself at times. I had started an interest in finding the old and moldy pre American Civil War militia swords that started surfacing in the 1830s. By the 1850s, blades got longer and became known as an 1850 pattern. These very same patterns became widely used by fraternal groups but the centurion pommels actually begin with the French First Empire military dress swords, some known as epee d ville. You'll see the French swords on ebay and the US militia swords are still fairly common. These older Ames shorties are getting scarce though.
My adventures pf this past decade have been assembled in this thread. I'll have to update there, as I have been diligent in putting them in one place. Tim Graham has added a lot of examples and notes there and what I began with just the old short Ames, we have covered a lot of ground and Tim especially had brought a lot of information to the table. The thread will continue to be an archive for them. I guess I have ended up buying at least one a year,
www.swordforum.com/vb4/showthread.php?104816-Early-Ames-And-Other-s-Militia-NCO-Patterns
This one surfaced with a complete scabbard, so I had to have it if others didn't want it more. It came to about what I figured for my ballpark limit. I was ready to go for a little more but even with 7% tax now added, I still beat the budget.
I've posted the assortment of my collection of them in the past and the two last seemed as dear to me as this one. I had picked up an etched example with brass scabbard and before that a much haggled shortie I tracked for years before they relented. The scallop shell langets began use by Ames in the last half of the '30s but continue to at least the etched example, as the address and etch put it in the '40s.
That last Ames shortie with the 20.5" blade came with most of a scabbard and finally acquired it after several offers as the price slowly came down to reality. Another sword that was tracked for years.
Some of my finds have cost less than $50 and the most I have paid was $175 for the right sword. This latest one was a bit more than $100, about the price of a big day/night out, or a grocery run.
These are all Ames except the urn pommel and longer spadroon bladed one are Hortsmann
There are a lot of pictures and information in that linked thread and I have three other oddballs. I'm at about the attachment limit but one is more of a dagger, one a perched eagle and the other a spiral grip. All are shown in that thread.
My adventures pf this past decade have been assembled in this thread. I'll have to update there, as I have been diligent in putting them in one place. Tim Graham has added a lot of examples and notes there and what I began with just the old short Ames, we have covered a lot of ground and Tim especially had brought a lot of information to the table. The thread will continue to be an archive for them. I guess I have ended up buying at least one a year,
www.swordforum.com/vb4/showthread.php?104816-Early-Ames-And-Other-s-Militia-NCO-Patterns
This one surfaced with a complete scabbard, so I had to have it if others didn't want it more. It came to about what I figured for my ballpark limit. I was ready to go for a little more but even with 7% tax now added, I still beat the budget.
I've posted the assortment of my collection of them in the past and the two last seemed as dear to me as this one. I had picked up an etched example with brass scabbard and before that a much haggled shortie I tracked for years before they relented. The scallop shell langets began use by Ames in the last half of the '30s but continue to at least the etched example, as the address and etch put it in the '40s.
That last Ames shortie with the 20.5" blade came with most of a scabbard and finally acquired it after several offers as the price slowly came down to reality. Another sword that was tracked for years.
Some of my finds have cost less than $50 and the most I have paid was $175 for the right sword. This latest one was a bit more than $100, about the price of a big day/night out, or a grocery run.
These are all Ames except the urn pommel and longer spadroon bladed one are Hortsmann
There are a lot of pictures and information in that linked thread and I have three other oddballs. I'm at about the attachment limit but one is more of a dagger, one a perched eagle and the other a spiral grip. All are shown in that thread.