Description
Super nice condition overall and retaining 100% of the original leather grip, throat washer and wire wrap. This beauty is crisply dated 1864 and has strong and deep Ames markings, too. It has a thin nickle plating wash on the scabbard and blade which is very typical to see on many wartime edged weapons used near the coast or inland bodies of water. The flash nickle slowed oxidation in high humidity and salt environments. It is unknown how many were produced or modified in this manner, but the number is in the many thousands based on how many turn up year to year. Some feel this plating is post-War for veteran use or display, but I professionally disagree. This type of plating is seen as early as the 1850s on German made edged weapons, so the process was clearly available in the US by the 1860s. Either way, NICE wartime production example of a field used and carried sabre.