My brother-in-law's friend is selling his mother's stuff as she must
move into a full-care residence. When he came upon this item, he was
totally stumped as to what kind of value it might have. Does anybody
know where I can get some kind of approximate value? He tried bringing
it to antique dealers but they didn't seem too helpful (in fact, one
tried to buy the thing for 75 bucks - which even he knew is nothing
close to its value).
Some details written onto the blade:
"Henry Wilkinson Pall Mall London", "By Warrant", "By Appointment",
"Gleves London Portmouth & DevonPort" and the number "60601"
It has a lion's-head pommel and leather (snake-skin?) grip with ornate
brass guard. The blade is etched with ropes, oak leaves and acorns as
well as a coat of arms including lion and unicorn. Includes leather and
brass sheath.
There is some pitting on the end of the blade, but not a lot. The
sheath was also bent sharply and sustained a permanent deformation. The
clasp which held the weapon in the sheath is also missing from the guard.
I have uploaded pictures taken with my wife's little digital camera to
the following site, if anybody wants to have an idea what it looks like.
http://www.bubbleshare.com/album/354242
How do I get this guy some kind of ball-park figure he should expect to
get for this blade? Can anybody point me in the right direction? If he
had a realistic idea of it's worth, he could maybe negotiate from a
position of power...
Thanks for any help you can give me.
Clurrie
"A knife is a piece of steel to which the maker gives a soul"
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