Two-handed Knight's Medieval Great Sword

[Sir William]

That's what the listing calls it:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/150528904313?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

When I asked about papers and/or provenance, his answer was simple and succinct.

"No, I don't...but neither does 99.99% of the stuff out their" - exactly as he wrote it.  You be the judge...

[Sir Edward]

Yeah, the steel looks old, but that can always be faked, or relatively "young" for an antique as such. Especially when you consider the price, I'm inclined to think it's a 19th or 20th century reproduction, and only "antique" in the sense that it could be older than the owner.

[Sir Wolf]

i would pass

[Sir William]

No doubt, I just wondered what you fellows thought with regard to provenance.  I'm inclined to disbelieve any and all antiques w/out any sort of certification that can't be corroborated independently.

[Sir James A]

It might be possible to rule it out as being authentic or fake if you could test the balance and handling, since the 19th/20th century repros weren't "life or death" functional like the originals. The few people I've talked to who have handled authentic pieces say they don't compare to even the best modern repros.

Since this one has a maker's mark, it might be worth checking with the Met in NY for their list of known maker's marks. And the same for any other museum who would help try to validate the piece. It doesn't rule out somebody making a repro with an authentic makers mark, but short of carbon dating, I don't think there's any "guaranteed" way to know.

But that price seems way too low, not even having a comma in it. If antiques were that cheap, we'd just buy the real thing instead of repros that cost more.

[Sir Edward]

I've handled a similar period original antique before. This one looks like it lacks a lot of the subtleties that you'd find on an original. I'm pretty convinced it's more modern.

I think it would more authentic to take an A&A or Albion and throw it in a shed for a few years.

[Sir William]

Huh...there's an idea.  LOL

Like I'd subject an Albion or A&A to such...gross negligence.

[Leganoth]

Doesnt look real to me, has to be  a remake, if it WAS a antique and used there would be contact marks and it doesnt look like a medieval claymore to me, I dont buy it. If it was an "antique" you should try to take care of it and it looks as if it wasnt used, the coloring looks fake but thats just my opinion.

[Sir James A]

Remember that "antique" isn't old as we tend to think of as medieval. It's generally "something over 100 years old", which the Victorian replicas would fall under being antiques, but they're not from the actual medieval period.