stenbar

Thanks all. Maybe I need to refine the question a bit. If you (personally) have purchased and sold a sword, I'll assume that you sold it for a higher amount. Percentage wise, what was the increase, and how long did you own it? Has anyone ever seen any metrics on the nihonto market over a given period? Instead of having the "Van Gogh vs. Nihonto" discussion, we should combine the two. Witness the birth of a new art form "Van Gonto" (see attachment) - he did slice off his own ear with something & I'm betting it was with a katana. The first $2 million bid walks away with this lovely piece of history. I'm already investing in real estate, stocks, and wine. I've always been interested in nihonto and am curious about valuations. I'm also curious about the "food chain" of the market. Where do the dealers get their blades? Directly from the public, or are there wholesale vendors for the dealers? By the way, I went ahead and bought the waki.

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on how prices are determined and the investment potential of nihonto. Has the market appreciated much over the last 5, 10, 15 years? Are the majority of the members here collectors that occaisionally sell, or seller's that occaisionally collect? Also, would $1400 be a fair price for this? http://www.aoi-art.com/sword/wakizashi/08319.html As always, we newbies appreciate all input.

This is odd. Take a look at: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=006 alongside: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=003 They appear to be nearly identical until you look at the back side, where there are some slight differences. Was it common for kinko mixed metal tsuba to be turned out in large numbers?

Have you seen the tsuba on http://www.swordstore.com? The pictures aren't that great, but they seem to have a very authentic look to them. I've printed out their inventory and compare them to ebay before making a bid. Hopefully a close-up picture would show some flaws.

Here's the pro's: 1) From Japan and condition appears nearly perfect. 2) The seller hasn't listed a bunch of others in this perfect condition. 3) No obvious chinese-style poor casting mistakes Here's what's causing me doubts: 1) This is an ebay item and the seller usually sells poorer quality items 2) Condition seems to be perfect on the inlay, but has some marks/scratches/aging around the nakago ana 3) The "brightness" of the inlay would make me think it's been added recently. 4) I've never seen one like this before (but I'm pretty new at this). That said, if this is a fake, it's scary good.

Anyone care to cast their vote?

Here's some close ups. My macro photography/lighting needs some work, but they're not too bad.

I learned something about my camera last night. It takes lousy close up pics. I'll have to borrow one from a photographer buddy or maybe I'll just go buy one. My birthday is in a couple of weeks...

I'll take some close-up photos this evening. Thank you to all. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Thanks Piers - so far so good. This was the propaganda surrounding it: signed Ishiyama Motoshige. Motoshige was a Goto School craftsman, one of the greatest craftsman in Japan... I believed he lived in the mid 1600's. Can anyone confirm this?

Could someone give me your thoughts on this tsuba? Craftsman's name, school, era etc... It is NBTHK Hozon certified. I'm a new collector and this one was just too pretty to pass up. I haven't seen copper tsuba with carvings this deep. One thing is strange - the dragon has 3 toes/claws on the front and 5 on the back. From what I read, this is a sign that it could be an imperial dragon. Any thoughts? PS - Thanks for the suggested reading list on your site, I've ordered a couple.