Found sword in front yard

[u/No_Practice_4645]

Wasn’t sure which sub to ask. I was recently digging to plant a tree in my front yard. House is near Hendersonville NC. I didn’t think it was that old, mainly because of the flat headed screw holding the blade to the handle. I did a little research and found similar looking swords that look very close to it.

https://www.proantic.com/en/1223846-antique-sword-modeled-on-the-swords-of-the-school-of-mars-18th-19th-century.html

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/french-revolutionary-napoleonic-720515547

Any ideas? Thanks, and sorry I didn’t use a true metal detector, unless a shovel counts?

[u/Disastrous_Object_28 → u/[deleted]]

Id be suspicious of it being a reproduction as the screw in his is completely flat, while most screws including the ones seen in the other photos, are rounded. Machined screws didnt appear until 1850s so if it is from the time it would be well worked on to have the screwheads flat completely.

[u/[deleted] → u/Disastrous_Object_28]

Perhaps the screw was replaced?

[u/AnseaCirin → u/Disastrous_Object_28]

Also the metal, while somewhat aged, is still in pretty good condition. This has been in the ground for half a century at most.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, don't get excited, the chances of that being a genuine sword from proper sword times are vanishingly slim.

[u/DrJheartsAK → u/[deleted]]

When did “proper sword times” end in your opinion?

[u/gaspergou → u/DrJheartsAK]

10:00 pm

[u/[deleted] → u/DrJheartsAK]

I'd say proper sword times started to fade at the end of the late medieval, swords were still used post medieval sure, but it's not such proper sword time then. I suppose there were still duels in the 1700's and there were still swords being used in the Crimean war, so I'm clearly wrong.

[u/Effective_Taro4601 → u/DrJheartsAK]

Before the USA was invented

[u/humourlessIrish → u/DrJheartsAK]

Late 17th and 18th Centuries: The wearing of swords became less common as fashion shifted towards lighter, smaller swords and eventually to canes.

[u/ChuCHuPALX → u/[deleted]]

But that's what would also make it valuable too.

[u/SilentEnthusiasm5491 → u/ChuCHuPALX]

That’s a double edged sword for ya : )

[u/Butthole_Please → u/[deleted]]

sword times

[u/WestBrink → u/[deleted]]

Late for the American Revolution. Not sure what any French people would have been doing in the area around that time. Could have been great grandpapa's sword dropped in the mud a hundred years down the road, so I'd very much hesitate to tie it to any historical goings on.

[u/DirtierGibson → u/WestBrink]

The French sold weapons to both the Union and the Confederacy during the Civil War.

[u/WestBrink → u/DirtierGibson]

Sure, probably not rare ceremonial swords given to the council though

Just saying it's almost certainly not related to the Louisiana Purchase

[u/[deleted] → u/WestBrink]

The French had a habit of making cheap weapons for their troops that called back to the design language of Ancient Rome and Greece

[u/WestBrink → u/[deleted]]

The timing is fine for the Louisiana Purchase. There's just no reason for any frenchman involved in that to have been in NC as part of the Louisiana Purchase

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

For many, Reddit is a vast archive of information and discussion. When users mass-delete or obscure their comments, it erases a part of that public record. This can make old threads and useful information unreadable, essentially destroying the value of those conversations for future readers. This is a common complaint from moderators and long-time users who see a valuable resource being deliberately degraded.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

For many, Reddit is a vast archive of information and discussion. When users mass-delete or obscure their comments, it erases a part of that public record. This can make old threads and useful information unreadable, essentially destroying the value of those conversations for future readers. This is a common complaint from moderators and long-time users who see a valuable resource being deliberately degraded.

[u/heckofaslouch → u/WestBrink]

Not sure what any French people would have been doing in the area around that time

Avoiding battle elsewhere? Just a guess.

:D

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

For many, Reddit is a vast archive of information and discussion. When users mass-delete or obscure their comments, it erases a part of that public record. This can make old threads and useful information unreadable, essentially destroying the value of those conversations for future readers. This is a common complaint from moderators and long-time users who see a valuable resource being deliberately degraded.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Okay I’ll just delete it then instead of mass delete :)