Heer Dress Sword

[Steve Campbell]

I came across this locally the weekend. I don't know much about these things but I guess it's a Heer dress sword. I've included a number of pictures. The piece is in over all good shape. The blade is in very good condition. It is marked Alcosa Soligen FN. It also has the mark AWS on it. My question is about a ball park figure on an item like this. I have a chance to buy it but not sure what the going rate for one of these is. Is this a hard to find item or maker? The scabbard may have been repainted but I'm not sure. Over all good condition.

[Steve Campbell]

Just a ball park figure would be good. Here's the maker mark.

[Steve Campbell]

Another.

[Steve Campbell]

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[Steve Campbell]

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[SwordFish]

That's a very nice looing Alcoso army officer saber. Unattributed model. Pictured on pg 65 of Angolia. I'd have to check my other literature for a model or NR number. Not rare.

Looking at the photos, it looks as if most of the gold colored gilting is still intact. This is a good thing. You need to be sure to indspect the grip for cracks. This is a very common flaw found in dovehead style sabers for the wood expanding or contracting causing the celluloid to split. Looking at the photos, I see a flaw. I cannot really tell what the degree of degradation is without a better photo of the damaged are. Also you want to be sure the grip wire in in decent shape. The photos suggest they are in good shape. If not, it's very simple process to replace or repair it. Scabbard dents definitley detract from the overall value as does a re-paint.

If in fact a saber is like this is devoid of grip cracks, has nice tight grip wire, few scabbard dents and original paint, one may epxect a value of between $375-500 in US. It all depends. The sword market is certainly different from the dagger market. Sabers fluctuate drastically based on a variety of market conditions.

If you choose to purchase it, I suspect you would be able to mend the damaged grip. Again, I'd need a bette idea of the damage extent to point you in the right direction however.

Tom

[Steve Campbell]

Thanks! If you look at the handle shots in #3 and #4 posts you can see what appears to be some kind of damage towards the rear of the grip. I'm not sure what it is. I'll have to have a better look at this and check for some of the things you mentioned.

[SwordFish]

An additonal remedy would be to replace the grip. I would not reccommend this however if it can be avoided. It's not as easy as just slapping in a new grip. I've replaced grips before and can tell you it is a challenge. Johnson has some for sale, but WILL definitely require fitting...so have a dremmel handy. These are sort of fitted to the saber.

It looks like it'd be agreat Heer sabel if it wasn't for that damage.

[Steve Campbell]

So you agree that that is some sort of damage on the handle? Where would this place the value? What if the scabbard was repainted? What does the original paint look like. A matte or gloss finish?

[SwordFish]

Judging by the photos, I think the scabbard paint is original. Don't hold me 100% on this, but it seems original.

Regarding the damage in relation to value, I'm going to retract my initial estimate. The high-side is a bit too steep. What I quoted probably would be accuarate if the saber had no damage. Even then, that may be a bit generous as this is not considered a rare sabel.

I would put this at $350-385. At anyrate, as a saber collector, that would probably be my limit. This is simply based on how labor intensive grip replacement or grip repair can be.

Again, the saber market seems to be in a constant state of flux. I've seen great ACS NR 119's go for $300 then a crumby NR 119 go for $410. Dealer sites may serve as a reference, but they are not generally as representative of sabers as they are for daggers...(keep in mind they also charge a little premium).

If you choose to go foreward, PM or email me and I can provide some tips on grip repair/replacement. Additionally, that damage almost looks like some sort of heat damage. Interesting.

[Steve Campbell]

Thanks. If I picked it up I would probably just leave it as it is. It seemed solid enough. Right now the asking price is a little high as I originally suspected.