IDENTIFIED HISTORIC MODEL 1852 CIVIL WAR NAVAL OFFICER’S SWORD.

IDENTIFIED HISTORIC MODEL 1852 CIVIL WAR NAVAL OFFICER’S SWORD. Unmarked Naval Officer’s sword with 29″ slightly curved blade, 1-1/8″ at ricasso, wide & narrow fullers with various naval theme decorations. It has brass hand guard with oak leaf & acorns with “USN” incorporated & a dolphin head quillion with another dolphin at rear end of hand guard. It has brass wire wrapped sharkskin handle with oval pommel cap with stars & eagle. It has its orig leather & brass scabbard with dolphin drag showing moderate wear & two braided knot hangers with brass throat. Accompanied by an oval framed photograph of a young naval officer wearing his cap with his frock coat & what is probably this sword. Bottom is inscribed in period ink script “JOS. W. CONGDON. / U.S. NAVY.” Also accompanied by a January 1980 dated booklet titled “HISTORIC NANTUCKET”, which has a 3-1/2 page article on pp. 27-31 regarding Mr. Congdon, who was a commander & sailing master of the 1,200 ton screw steamer, Housatonic, in 1864. Commander Congdon reported the incident of Feb. 17, 1864 in which his ship, the Housatonic was attacked & became the first ship in history to be sunk by a submarine, the ill fated & now famous H.L. Hunley. It is unclear whether Commander Congdon was wearing this sword at the time. Commander Congdon was the son of a Nantucket whaling master whose family resided on Nantucket Island for over 200 years. Prior to Civil War Commander Congdon was also involved in whaling but then joined Navy & later, Coast Guard Revenue Service. After war he rejoined the Coast Guard & became Master of the Salmon P. Chase, a fine sailing ship. CONDITION: Good. No orig finish remains on blade, being a mottled, unsharpened, gray finish. Most of etching is clear with some scattered pitting. Hand guard is a little loose & handle shows heavy wear. Scabbard is complete, missing screws from drag & middle band. Leather is crackled with some loss of finish but appears complete. Photograph is yellowed with a couple of scratches & some soil but fine. 4-56606 JR652 (2,500-5,000)

Auction: Firearms - Spring 2006

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	122K.	$5,750.00	IDENTIFIED HISTORIC MODEL 1852 CIVIL WAR NAVAL OFFICER’S SWORD. Unmarked Naval Officer’s sword with 29″ slightly curved blade, 1-1/8″ at ricasso, wide & narrow fullers with various naval theme decorations. It has brass hand guard with oak leaf & acorns with “USN” incorporated & a dolphin head quillion with another dolphin at rear end of hand guard. It has brass wire wrapped sharkskin handle with oval pommel cap with stars & eagle. It has its orig leather & brass scabbard with dolphin drag showing moderate wear & two braided knot hangers with brass throat. Accompanied by an oval framed photograph of a young naval officer wearing his cap with his frock coat & what is probably this sword. Bottom is inscribed in period ink script “JOS. W. CONGDON. / U.S. NAVY.” Also accompanied by a January 1980 dated booklet titled “HISTORIC NANTUCKET”, which has a 3-1/2 page article on pp. 27-31 regarding Mr. Congdon, who was a commander & sailing master of the 1,200 ton screw steamer, Housatonic, in 1864. Commander Congdon reported the incident of Feb. 17, 1864 in which his ship, the Housatonic was attacked & became the first ship in history to be sunk by a submarine, the ill fated & now famous H.L. Hunley. It is unclear whether Commander Congdon was wearing this sword at the time. Commander Congdon was the son of a Nantucket whaling master whose family resided on Nantucket Island for over 200 years. Prior to Civil War Commander Congdon was also involved in whaling but then joined Navy & later, Coast Guard Revenue Service. After war he rejoined the Coast Guard & became Master of the Salmon P. Chase, a fine sailing ship. CONDITION: Good. No orig finish remains on blade, being a mottled, unsharpened, gray finish. Most of etching is clear with some scattered pitting. Hand guard is a little loose & handle shows heavy wear. Scabbard is complete, missing screws from drag & middle band. Leather is crackled with some loss of finish but appears complete. Photograph is yellowed with a couple of scratches & some soil but fine. 4-56606 JR652 (2,500-5,000) Auction: Firearms - Spring 2006 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

.red{fill:#B50938;} .white{fill:#FFFFFF;} .blue{fill:#005596;}