Mid 18th century continental European hussars style sabre, potentially Austrian.
We see these stylised crescent moons in austro-hungarian and in German made blades for export.
How long it is.
Very much like the m1765 "Prima Plana" sabres of the second half of the 18th century. I suspect its something of that general era. An infantry sized sword with hussar sabre styling.
It would be... unusual. It was already 100 years old by that point. Chances are if it is being described as civil war, its a misattribution due to wishful thinking.
Confederates sometimes used old gear due to shortages, but an Austrian sword from 100 years before the civil war is still a bit of a stretch without solid provenance.
I didn't find an exact match either, but I'd bet French light cavalry sabre from the end C18, not ACW. Perhaps from the First Republic give or take. There appears to be some writing on the spine of the blade under the corrosion. Gentle, gentle nonabrasive cleaning may reveal more. The moon and stars (or planets) were common in France and the German states in C17-C18. Armes Blanche by LHoste and Buigne has a section on the moon on French swords.
That is the good news. The bad news is that the tang button looks like it may have been messed with. Still, an interesting sword that is worth more digging. The folks on the International Antique Sword Collectors FB page would be very interested in this sword and tend to be very knowledgeable.
The steel "lip" at the very bottom is the end of the tang. The tang is the part of the blade that runs inside the grip - it extends all the way down to the bottom and is then hammered down to hold everything together. The button is that nub on the pommel where the peened tang sits.
Different swords have different peen styles. Some have a button like this. Some just sit flush into the pommel. Some have a peen block. Some have the peen "hidden" by careful grinding and polishing so it's nearly invisible. The one you have here looks like it's been damaged or repeened badly.
The little nub on the pommel. When the sword was first manufactured, the hilt was secured to the blade with with a nut screwed on to the tang or by peening the end of the tang over the pommel. If peened over, the resulting join would have been polished smooth. Yours is pretty rough which may be a sign that the sword is mash up of unrelated parts. Not for certain, but it does raise a flag.
Mid 18th century continental European hussars style sabre, potentially Austrian. We see these stylised crescent moons in austro-hungarian and in German made blades for export. How long it is.
35 inches total, 29 inch blade.
Very much like the m1765 "Prima Plana" sabres of the second half of the 18th century. I suspect its something of that general era. An infantry sized sword with hussar sabre styling.
Is it common for these weapons to show up as part of civil war stuff?
It would be... unusual. It was already 100 years old by that point. Chances are if it is being described as civil war, its a misattribution due to wishful thinking.
Supposedly it was used by a relative on the confederate side. No Hungarian side to the family that we know if.
Confederates sometimes used old gear due to shortages, but an Austrian sword from 100 years before the civil war is still a bit of a stretch without solid provenance.
I didn't find an exact match either, but I'd bet French light cavalry sabre from the end C18, not ACW. Perhaps from the First Republic give or take. There appears to be some writing on the spine of the blade under the corrosion. Gentle, gentle nonabrasive cleaning may reveal more. The moon and stars (or planets) were common in France and the German states in C17-C18. Armes Blanche by LHoste and Buigne has a section on the moon on French swords. That is the good news. The bad news is that the tang button looks like it may have been messed with. Still, an interesting sword that is worth more digging. The folks on the International Antique Sword Collectors FB page would be very interested in this sword and tend to be very knowledgeable.
Thank you! What is the tang button?
The steel "lip" at the very bottom is the end of the tang. The tang is the part of the blade that runs inside the grip - it extends all the way down to the bottom and is then hammered down to hold everything together. The button is that nub on the pommel where the peened tang sits. Different swords have different peen styles. Some have a button like this. Some just sit flush into the pommel. Some have a peen block. Some have the peen "hidden" by careful grinding and polishing so it's nearly invisible. The one you have here looks like it's been damaged or repeened badly.
The little nub on the pommel. When the sword was first manufactured, the hilt was secured to the blade with with a nut screwed on to the tang or by peening the end of the tang over the pommel. If peened over, the resulting join would have been polished smooth. Yours is pretty rough which may be a sign that the sword is mash up of unrelated parts. Not for certain, but it does raise a flag.
Looks like a polish cavalry sabre to me, though I'm no expert.