Antique and Rare Sword for Guard of the Royal Guard Corps of Halberdier Guards. Spain, 1849

Antique and rare sword of guard of the Royal Corps of Halberdier Guards, made in Spain in 1849 and in quite good condition. This is a real collectors piece belonging to a limited series from which many units disappeared, as stated in the following paragraph. The sword preserves the decorative engraved motifs and the inscriptions in quite good condition, clear and legible. The blade bears two inscriptions: engraved in one side we can read the sentence Artillería Fábrica de Toledo Año de 1849 (Artillery Factory of Toledo Year of 1849), while on the other side the inscription reads Real Cuerpo de Guardias Alabarderos (Royal Corps of Halberdier Guards). The sword comes with an old-time steel scabbard that might not be the original one but fits perfectly with it. This sword is model 1848 (though they are all dated in 1849), forged in the time when general Francisco Martínez Campos proposed queen Isabel II of Spain to change the design of the sabers of the Queens Halberdier Guards, as he thought they were not distinguished enough to be worn with the gala uniform. This way, on July of that year the fabrication of 325 units was approved, but only 320 were forged. After the Queen lost her throne and went into exile to France, the Royal Corps of Halberdiers handed 109 swords to the royal armory and 53 more in the frontier between the two countries. This makes 164 swords in total. The other 156 swords disappeared when the Volunteers of Freedom sacked the palace quarters. This sword is one of the missing weapons. The swords hilt is entirely made of Steel. It has a tapered grip with horizontal grooves crowned by a spherical pommel. The pommel bears the symbols of Castilla and Leon (a castle and a lion) engraved on each side. Between them we can see a border with fleurs-de-lis which is also engraved inside and outside the D-guard. The cross is also decorated with this symbol: there is one fleur-de-lis at each end and another in the center. The steel scabbard is well preserved too and keeps the original rings. This antique and rare sword of guard of the Royal Corps of Halberdier Guards will stand out in any collection for its curious history and authentic quality. Measurements: Blade Length: 33 in / 82.5 cm. Total Length: 40.4 in / 101 cm.