Millers1257 Posted May 8 Report Posted May 8 I am wondering if someone can give me an approximate value of a sword. I have attached pictures. I was told it most likely belonged to an officer and sometimes are passed down through generations. I would appreciate your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you! Susan Quote
Grey Doffin Posted May 8 Report Posted May 8 Hi Susan, It would be easier for us to see what you have if you take your pictures on a dark background. Your camera is reading off the light colored background and detail has been washed out. Pictures of both sides of the tang (part of the blade inside the handle) and of the whole bare blade with a yard stick beside it will help. Look here for a care and handling brochure: https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ Best, Grey 1 Quote
O koumori Posted May 8 Report Posted May 8 Hi Susan, Nice quilt, but Grey is right about using a dark background for photos. The sword appears to be signed with a two-character mei. Unfortunately in the picture the top kanji is partially obscured by the seppa (washer) and tsuba (guard) and I can't make it out. The second character is "yoshi." The blade is signed tachi mei. It is in "handachi" mounts. The blade would need to be carefully examined for flaws and condition before being able to estimate a value. Your best bet would be to locate a study group or experienced collector and have it looked at. If you are not too far, check out the Indiana Token Kai; we meet monthly and would be happy to help out. Dan Quote
Lewis B Posted May 8 Report Posted May 8 10 minutes ago, O koumori said: The second character is "yoshi." Hi Dan, I think you mean 'mitsu' 3 1 Quote
Rivkin Posted May 9 Report Posted May 9 Well... It has a tachi mei which is well carved in koto fashion.. very beafy both nakago and blade, with uniform nakago patina. Probably Muromachi. Probably toriizori. So its likely 1500-1550. Weird uchigatana with tachi mei? Could be, interesting how long is the nagasa. Mitsu was used by a few schools, Bizen being most famous. But there are some issues with it being Bizen... Late Bungo it can be. 1 Quote
John C Posted May 9 Report Posted May 9 At one time, the saya (scabbard) had a nice Kin-mushikui-nuri (金虫喰塗り) finish. Looks a bit deteriorated now. John C. Quote
vajo Posted May 9 Report Posted May 9 Tachi signed mei - should read masamitsu looks shinto to me. Quote
George KN Posted May 9 Report Posted May 9 Hi Susan/@Millers1257, welcome to the forum! Just to clarify what others have suggested, this looks to be a real Japanese blade, likely hundreds of years old. It 100% needs treating with care, so please don't attempt to clean the blade, even though it seems in rough shape, as you may damage it further (for example, cleaning the rust off the nagako/tang can drastically reduce a sword's value as it is a key way to tell it's age). In terms of price, these swords can have quite a large range - from a few hundred dollars, to tens of thousands. It all comes down to the smith, the quality and aesthetics of the blade, as well as its condition and any flaws it has. Even a sword's tsuba/guard or other fittings can command quite a high valuation on their own, or be near valueless. It all depends. There's so much nuance in the field it's hard to properly summarise. Smith signatures are often faked (called gimei), and even a near-invisible hairline crack in part of the blade could render it fatally flawed (though this depends on where the crack is). As Dan suggested, this really should be seen by a collector or expert in person, or else you risk potentially underselling the sword without knowing it's true value or history. 1 Quote
Millers1257 Posted May 9 Author Report Posted May 9 On 5/8/2026 at 1:39 PM, Millers1257 said: I am wondering if someone can give me an approximate value of a sword. I have attached pictures. I was told it most likely belonged to an officer and sometimes are passed down through generations. I would appreciate your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you! Susan Quote
Millers1257 Posted May 9 Author Report Posted May 9 On 5/8/2026 at 3:32 PM, Grey Doffin said: Hi Susan, It would be easier for us to see what you have if you take your pictures on a dark background. Your camera is reading off the light colored background and detail has been washed out. Pictures of both sides of the tang (part of the blade inside the handle) and of the whole bare blade with a yard stick beside it will help. Look here for a care and handling brochure: https://nbthk-ab2.org/sword-characteristics/ Best, Grey On 5/8/2026 at 1:39 PM, Millers1257 said: I am wondering if someone can give me an approximate value of a sword. I have attached pictures. I was told it most likely belonged to an officer and sometimes are passed down through generations. I would appreciate your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you! Susan Quote
Jussi Ekholm Posted May 9 Report Posted May 9 Can you please take off all the fittings and post a clear picture of the signature. You cannot see the first character well, I have my guess on it but I would rather see a good picture where it can be actually seen. Quote
Jussi Ekholm Posted May 9 Report Posted May 9 Mark is correct it is indeed Nagamitsu 長光. I was guessing it would be from the lower portion of first kanji. Quote
Millers1257 Posted May 9 Author Report Posted May 9 Thank you! Any thoughts on approximate value? Quote
Rivkin Posted May 9 Report Posted May 9 Its uchigatana most likely slightly under 2 shaku or around 2 shaku. The signature is nijimei which is a bit unusual for a Bizen name, and Nagamitsu is unfortunately a Bizen name. Its placed not at the ridge but between the ridge and the backedge, which would hint towards koto. The nakago condition is anything between 1500 and 1670. The blade tapers and curves, so we can exclude Kambun. The problem - there are no late legitimate Nagamitsu generations, its tachimei on uchigatana, which is almost unheard of. So its gimei. Unless its a stellar blade otherwise - its not very much, at a show 500-750$, on ebay probably 800-1000 or whatever you'll get for it. It might be that the blade is some legitimate Bizen Sukesada from the late Muromachi. 1 1 Quote
Millers1257 Posted May 9 Author Report Posted May 9 Thank you very much for your information and thoughts. I do appreciate you! Quote
Mark Posted May 10 Report Posted May 10 where in Michigan are you? I live near Toledo and get up to Detroit area occasionally. i could look at it and give you more information if you were close 1 Quote
Millers1257 Posted May 12 Author Report Posted May 12 On 5/10/2026 at 9:22 AM, Mark said: where in Michigan are you? I live near Toledo and get up to Detroit area occasionally. i could look at it and give you more information if you were close Thank you for the offer, I will certainly keep it in mind. Quote
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