Tsuba Metal Detecting Find

[Jaco]

Hi I recently found these 2 items metal detecting and thought it was some heavy duty key echuseon but was busy putting my finds in bags and containers and labelling them and realised this looks like a sword guard, google lens confirmed as Japanese tsuba, this was found here in Cape Town what is odd to me is the 13 stamp. I came across this thread and looks to me there is very knowledgeable gentleman on here, could you kindly help to identify this and possibly the age please it would be greatly appreciated.

[Brian]

Looks like a WW2 Kai Gunto tsuba, part of a set of various numbered fittings used on the more mass produced Naval swords in WW2. How it ended up in CT I have no idea. That is a very weird one.

[Bruce Pennington]

Jaco,

There were 3 kinds of swords during WWII that used that shape tsuba - Army contingency model (Type 3), Navy kaigunto (Type 97), and the post war souvenir made by the Tenshozan factory.  Army NCO Type 95 had one, too, but it would have side hole for the locking latch.

 

Left to right: Kaigunto, Souvenir, Army Type 95 NCO (didn't think to add the Type 3 when I made this photo)

 

If you would like to find out is to measure the thickness.  Souvenir tsuba are noticeably thinner at 3.64mm compared to 5.3 for kaigunto.  Yours could be either, but finding 1 small seppa with it starts leaning toward the souvenir as they came with only 1 seppa.  Could be simple coincidence, though, if your tsuba is thicker.  It's peculiar to see the assembly number stamped so close to the edge.  They are usually closer to the center to be hidden by the seppa.  This may point more to the navy kaigunto, as they had a dai-seppa that was quite large and might have covered that number.  

 

Cool find!

[John C]

Nice find, Jaco. I metal detect at the beach on occasion (Equinox 800) but all I find is coins, gold jewelry, and bottle caps!

 

John C.

[The Forest Ninja]

5 hours ago, Brian said:

How it ended up in CT I have no idea. That is a very weird one.

 

Could be another African Samurai like Yasuke.  

 

Yasuke

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 7 by The Forest Ninja

[Robert S]

4 hours ago, John C said:

Nice find, Jaco. I metal detect at the beach on occasion (Equinox 800) but all I find is coins, gold jewelry, and bottle caps!

 

John C.

Darn that gold jewellery :-)

[Jaco]

Hey Robert Equinox 800 is a really good machine, finding gold always fantastic, yes this find took me by suprise. I just added it to my collection to sort out later, at first thought it was some key eschuseon excuse the spelling. When I was sorting it all out I just had a light bulb moment when looking at it again and then started researching. I can't remember exactly where I found it unfortunately but was in Cape Town.