Item Description
Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is a fantastic Birmingham-made Officer’s cuttoe sword from the Revolutionary War era. The sword features a gorgeous arsenic-dyed fluted bone handle and a silver-mounted chain-guard hilt with some lovely detail work in the lion’s head on the pommel. The name “cuttoe” is an anglicization of the French term couteaux de chasse, meaning “hunting knife.”
On a silver plate over the grip is a monogram, I.M.B., for the sword’s owner. The underside of the crossguard bears a great deal of British silver hallmarks, including the Anchor that denotes manufacture in Birmingham, and letter "V" in a triangular shield date code that date the sword to 1793 on one side. Between these is an IW maker mark, which we believe to be for James Woolley of Birmingham. The other side has the "Lion" sterling standard mark, a King George III duty mark, and the letter "W" in a triangular shield, which is the 1794 date code.
The sword has a 25” blade and is 30⅞” overall with double fullers to both sides. There are a few small chips in the blade near the top and the false edge, with heavy oxidation across the top half, but the blade is in great shape overall for its age.
The gorgeous fluted bone grip is in great condition with the majority of the arsenic dye still intact, with a lovely patina overall. The inlaid silver monogram is still very legible. The silver chain guard is well-retained as well with some lovely small naval cannon “bar shot” shaped pieces in the rings. Lovely detailing overall with the silver lion’s head pommel in phenomenal order. The hallmarks under the crossguard are still well retained and easily legible with a magnifier.
The brass-mounted leather scabbard is complete but shows extremely heavy cracking and crazing to the leather, with the stitching almost entirely absent. The brass throat and drag are intact, and the scabbard measures roughly 26¼” overall. There is some denting to the mounts, but overall it fits the sword well, although we are unsure when exactly it was put with the sword as the brass doesn’t seem to complement the silver mountings very well.
A tremendous late 18th Century Officer’s cuttoe, with exquisite detailing and a gorgeous look. Comes ready for further research and display
Approximate Dimensions:
Blade Length: 25"
Overall length: 30⅞”
Scabbard length: 26¼”
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