French An XIII Cuirassier's Sword, Waterloo battle trophy (sold)

A French heavy cavalry An XIII sword, a battle trophy from Waterloo / the 100 Days War.

I 100% guarantee this is an authentic French An XIII heavy cavalry sword and that it was an English battle trophy from the 100 Days War. Trust me, the majority of An XIII's that appear on the market are reproductions; this is 100% authentic, guaranteed. Waterloo provenance? Many people ask how I know this sword is an English battle trophy from Waterloo / the 100 Days War. 1) The blade has been modified from hatchet point to spear point; this French field modification started just before Waterloo. 2) There are no post-1815 inspection marks to the sword; if it had stayed in French service, it would have been reinspected and stamped accordingly. 3) I bought it in England from a deceased's estate sale where the brass hilt was well tarnished (it was virtually black) from having laid dormant for many years (I cleaned the brass hilt, yes).

Above are the markings to the spine and forte / ricasso of the blade. The Klingenthal spine signature is correct for a blade made in 1810, see: Klingenthal State Sword Markings with the "M" under star for Inspector Claude Marion and "B" for Jean-Georges Bick. The third inspection mark (poinçons) you can see is rubbed out by scabbard sheathing.

The sword is in very good shape for something 200 years old and having quite literally been through the wars (Peninsular War, Franco-Russian War, 100 Days War). The 96 cm spear point blade is good and strong with no pitting, a little patina here and there, and is firm in the hilt; a tiny amount of movement. The hilt is in good order; I cleaned the brass to a point where it shows the bright brass but not like it is trying to be new (the brass can be completely cleaned up but I think it looks much better with some aging). The leather grip is in very good order; it is really nice to have the original leather grip, to hold the same grip as the French heavy cavalryman did 200 years ago. The twisted brass grip wire is mostly missing as is normal (brass is not the most robust metal). This can fairly easily be replaced; I wrote a blog on how to do this; Replacing An XIII grip wire.

Further / full sized images upon request. My item reference number is 842 (348).