Ganko

I have seen a few special ordered original type 98s which had mon menuki and appear to have had all the fittings silver plated. The fittings had all turned black due to the action of sulfides over the years. The item in question does not seem to have been done the same way.

This condition of the nakago on WW2 blades is usually caused by the tsuka having been soaked and not allowed to dry out for a long time as Jean has said. I have seen this many times. As regards the two mekugi ana, I believe that some smiths have a normal preferred location where they make the hole but it is not the ideal location for the military mountings with their thicker tsubas and multiple seppa. This would account for a hole about 1/2" below the original.

Interesting in lieu of menuki, a knot in the appropriate location. Poor mans menuki?

I don't see any physical problems with the sword. As to the validity of the signature, the nakago is not shown, so? A fair price depends on many factors and everyone has different preferences. Generally a blade of 70 cm is more valuable, a flashier hamon can often command more, decent mountings can also add to the value. This Mitsumasa is given a rating of 50 in Hawley and 3.5 mil Yen in the Toko Taikan. The signature should be authenticated, otherwise it should be considered a mumei blade and priced accordingly. Do not be in too big of a hurry or you may regret it later, learning about these swords can be an expensive proposition.

Looks like a legitimate naval sword, and is signed ?, ?, Katsu,masa I believe. Hard to read upside down, I have enough trouble when they are right-side up :-)

I got the virus warning and an ad for a drill motor when I first looked at it. Now that I have seen it, I agree with the comments above and would like to add; if you wish to throw your money away, visit a casino.

Steve beat me

I believe it is: Geishu Ju Morimoto Hirotaka saku and dated Bunkyo san nen ju ni gatsu(Dec 1863) this would correspond to the 7th generation sword smith.

I bought two swords from maybe ten years ago, one I immediately sent back(hagiri) and the other I should have sent back. Never again.

We all enjoy your efforts, they are much appreciated. Keep up the good work.

The possibility of it fitting well is about as good as the odds of winning in Las vegas. Better to rewrap the original.

Looks like the number 5 to me

Seems way over priced. He is no Sadakatsu.

I didn't realize they preceded the numbers with the Iroha sequence similar to what they did with type 14 Nambus. They would stamp serial numbers up to 99,999 and change the Iroha character then start over. Maybe to keep the enemy from knowing their production figures?

I have seen a couple of very good swords by Kuriyama Kaneaki for reasonable prices in the past

Unfortunately, the Yasukuni blades are getting to the break the bank point.

Pretty poor penmanship. I'm thinking "Katsu Masa"

"The Sword of Japan" by Joseph Bott is very good

What appears to be a straight hamon is actually a contrast enhancement done with hazuya stones by whoever polished it. In this case it is done too heavily and obscures the actual hamon underneath which appears to be a gunome variant. As far as the hada itself is concerned, I can't say due to the poor polish. It seems you have acquired the affliction, welcome to the club.

Looks like a genuine Japanese wakizashi to me, probably from the 1600's or perhaps a little earlier. The mountings aren't anything to get too excited about as they seem to have had much hobbyist type work done to them, at least they protect the sword.

Pretty flashy, that is a lot of muneyaki, almost hitatsura.

Edges resting on hard threaded fasteners, unbelievable.

I believe they are chrysanthemum leaves to go with the kiku in the center.

Unusual combination of characteristics. First thoughts, Hoju, Satsuma. Maybe Etchu?

Looks like a Chinese Knock-off.