In very good condition for its age, a rare curved blade 1804P British Royal Navy Cutlass and Scabbard
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Circa 1804, maybe slightly older (1802/1803 before the 1804 was made an official pattern), this is a rare Battle of Trafalgar era British Royal Navy Cutlass. A few curved bladed 1804P’s were made before the straight bladed pattern became set in stone, but this most likely just predates 1804, and almost certainly therefore was in existence at the time of the Battle of Trafalgar and may even have been aboard one of the British ships. The Crown over GR (Georgius Rex for King George IV) inspection / view mark confirms it was sold to the Royal British Navy and very early into the 1800’s (view marks started being crown over numbers not long into the 19C). There do appear to be some letters for the maker on the blade’s spine, but we can not determine them as they are too worn.
The 26 inch blade has been cleaned up, has a few nicks to the cutting edge and is a little loose in the hilt / grip; but then, it probably had a harsh long service life and is over 200 years old. The Figure of Eight hilt / guard is in good order and has some original black paint remaining (they were painted black to mostly prevent rust). The ribbed grip has quite a bit of wear, indicating it was held frequently and tightly so. The original leather on wood scabbard is very aged, worn and with age related defects, but is still remarkably sound and a huge bonus (most cutlasses of this era have lost their scabbards to the ravages of harsh service lives and age).
Really, really rare. Really, really great price, was £? (too late, now sold). Please quote item reference Y56. Further / full sized images available upon request. Box 1453-101x18x17 (1.883).
