Stegel

These markings are not stamps as such, probably why i didn't mention mine earlier, but Robs is the second one i've seen now, and maybe more exist out there in collectons. We've seen numbers stamped on tangs before and the opinions are either koshirae assembly numbers or personal smith tallys via series/numbering. (even Bruce's Roman numeral numbering system and the 'Dot' punch markings would be included here) I didn't mean to muddy the waters with my example, but highlight the fact that there appears to be another such system which is similar and yet slightly different. Of which Rob's and mine are the two known examples so far. This in itself is not enough to say a system was in place, but we can never say never. My initial thoughts on my sword were the same as Trystan's : however now seeing Rob's i'm not so sure. i'm thinking his looks more like a 19 also, and therefore i'm leaning towards an assembly number of sorts. However, The other fittings are not marked, just the blade itself (on mine at least) I'm was hoping that Thomas upon seeing these as numbers,may have had more info in this matter, to make us all a bit smarter! Looking forward to more thoughts on these!

It's a shame the mounting hole is so close, so as to make ID harder. I have an early type 95 with these stamps instead of the W, and also, some similar scratched numbers on the tang.

Hi Kay, The sword appears to be genuine, and from the photo's i believe it could be matching numbers. It was made by Iijima under the Kokura Administration. They were one of the subcontractors supplying the Tokyo Arsenal. The handle is Painted Aluminium in this case and it is quite clear in the photo's provided. Overall it appears to be in clean condition, that is not very well worn/abused. The serial number range is correct for this manufacturer. These are generally going from $700 to $1200 at auction depending on condition, so this would be at the higher end. You will find some dealers asking hugely inflated prices, even double the high end i mentioned, but their listings are around for a long time and are very slow sellers.( on occasion, they may be rare and will command higher prices anyway - this particular one if fairly common to find) Here's a good overview primer for you to read if you haven't got any reference books https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/Japanese-militaria/ija-type-95-nco-sword-info-228172/ if you want to know more indepth there's this one: https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/Japanese-militaria/short-development-history-type-95-gunto-676112/ Also if you do a search on this site you will find many threads about this particular model. I hope this helps you some. Good luck, and if you do get it, please post some better pics here, as there are a lot of people here who love looking at these!

Here's a Nagoya sword from a UK dealers site found (current listing so won't post the link) The black scabbard appears to be a period paint job, showing nice Patina and old wear from usage IMO. Closer inspection would help reveal if it is original or a 'period' repaint.

Rob, Those pictures are from the old UK dealers site found in his archives here (from 2019). If you look carefully you will see that there is one of each seppa (not two large ones) and they are fitted incorrectly. Just recently this sword showed up again here on our very own NMB. Not sure of the swords life between these few years but the seppa are now reversed and in the original configuration with the larger one facing the scabbard. Hope this helps.

Yes I agree, I’ll need to check other swords in this range by Suya to see if they had the black painted screws or not

You could also unscrew the scabbard throat carefully with a good screwdriver and examine the throat insert for any traces of old paint. This would help to determine what kind of paint job was applied. it could be a bare metal repaint or a complete paint over (where you should see traces of other paint) The difficult part is determining whether it is period or post war

Hi Zach, If by “bad” decision you mean that you think it is a fake, then rest assured- it is 100% genuine as Kippu has more or less said. The scabbard colour appears to be the red bean colour to me, but it looks like paint near the hanger, or is the paint rubbed back to the metal? could you please confirm. it doesn’t seem to have the wear marks that I would expect from normal usage, so it is possible that it has been repainted at some point. If you could post some close ups of the drag also it could help.

Yes this is a genuine Type95 NCO sword, made by the Seki group under Kokura Administration. These used to be common and able to be bought cheaply in the US and Australia. However they are not as easily found nowadays, as most have found their ways into collections or kept by the veteran’s family’s as heirlooms to be passed down the line etc. The scabbard colour appears to be the “red bean” colour, which is actually NOT as common as some would believe. Given today’s market it should easily fetch US$1000 as a rough guide. Obviously the better the condition, then the price would go up accordingly. I hope this helps you out.

Matt, can you show a picture of the mune on your sword? Tom's pictures show 2 stamps on the mune, for a moment i got excited thinking it was the 私 stamp signifying a private purchase, but the more i look at it, i think it is the 社 'sha' army acceptance stamp. The lower one i'm not sure about yet. On the drag, i think the top stamp is again the 'sha' with a heavily struck 'To' beneath it.

I agree, and as Matt previously stated, there have been at least another 3 very similar configurations seen previously.

The Seki logo appears to have been struck with a Heavy hand in my opinion, as does the Kokura logo as well as a partial double Stike

Currently €1000 = US$1041 , which makes me agree with zook, a bit on the high side for mismatched sword. If it was matching, it would be around the average going price at the moment in my opinion. Of course your market in Europe tends to be higher, but you could always make an offer €900 perhaps?

Great Viewing! I love these old films, i find them more interesting than normal TV and modern documentaries - keeping in mind of course, their propaganda use. Thanks for sharing!

Interesting find Ribendao, could you show a picture of the whole sword with scabbard please? (Or at least a few of the scabbard) Dave, very good point, there would have been quite a few spare!

I’m of the opinion that the company grade tassel, already attached may be original to the sword. With the shortage of sword supply in 1938, the IJA introduced the type95 rental program for officers. This program enabled officers to rent a type95, until the back orders of type 98 were filled and supply returned to normal. The option to buy the type95 outright instead of waiting for a type98 was also offered. The tassel shown is quite long and fits well, also appears to have been there for some time. What is the actual length?

I don't see any reason for keeping the actual serial number a secret... you have given us the range already, and it is something every 'prospective' buyer would like to know in advance i believe. Is this the same sword you show in these old posts here and here ?

Hey Phil, could possibly be Manchurian, as it has 20 stamens in what should be a Plum blossom and not Cherry which has 15 stamen. The Japanese used the Cherry Blossom (sakura, i think it's called) whereas Manchukuo used the Plum Blossom. Try posting it over at Warrelics Forum, if you can't get answers here, Nick Komiya would be able to give you a more definitive answer.

The price range given before is fairly accurate given today’s prices on eBay. The fact that it is fairly minty is a strong selling point for you. Symmetrical means both sides of the handle are the same as far as the imitation wrapping is concerned. Asymmetrical means that the wrap differs from one side to the other. In this case the wrap was moved to make way for the mounting screw.

Thanks for the pics, much better! I don’t see any sign of another stamp, this is not uncommon though, as you would expect only random samples to be inspected instead of the whole production run for quality control. Still, you have a very nice sword! The sword is part of the very first production by Gifu(Seki) for the Nagoya Arsenal and as such it is reasonably rare in itself. Only some 1200 to 1500 were made in this run, and very few are recorded.

I would also think it is a type32. Great postcard, thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the extra photos, however the area we are interested in is the top half of the throat. The’Na’ stamp precedes the serial number as would be expected. Your scabbard has more paint on it, so it is partially obscured. could you show the whole scabbard throat, and maybe also a photo of the back of the collar(fuchi) as there may be a stamp there also

Thanks Rob! I've been looking for this one as i have already mentioned it to Bruce for his document. I haven't been able to find it again! Do you have any other photos or auction id ?

Thanks, An interesting read.

Nice sword Steve, and thanks for sharing it here. The guy's here have given you a fairly good guess on the date of manufacture, which i agree with also. There are only a handful of these recorded in this number range of which even fewer have a fourth stamp. The stamp is 'ko' and i only know of two examples that have it stamped on the fuchi, so yes it is rare. I would like to see the scabbard throat with the serial numbers, you may find the extra stamp there. I have a mint example of the 'Gifu' (Seki) sword in this range with the stamp on the scabbard throat. It is the only one i have seen and yours could possibly be the second!