3 Philippine Bring Back Daggers & a Sword
 

I recently acquired this "set," which I think is pretty cool(archaic term denoting enthusiasm );the sword and knives aren't fantastic, but as a grouping, sent back by an American soldier, the sum is greater than the individual parts combined .Also, this is my first copper knife.
Unfortunately, the military bring back authorization paper, was just partially available, with only a portion of the name evident ; the result of some diabolical mouse or rat harboring a personal grudge against me, keeping me from the exact date and place from which it was sent.
My guess is WW2.

Still provenance is great, and copper bladed daggers were more talismanic and harder to find. Congratulations!

Thanks.My first copper dagger and I feel I am already getting an urge for another one.The scabbard is also wrapped with copper wire as well.

A NICE GROUP OF NON- TOURIST ITEMS AND IT IS UNUSUAL AND COOL :cool: TO GET THE GROUP STILL TOGETHER AND IN GOOD SHAPE WITH THE BOX. I HAVE ONLY BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO DO THAT TWO TIMES IN MY MANY YEARS OF COLLECTING. SO TREASURE THE MOMENT :D WW2 IS A GOOD GUESS , TOO BAD ABOUT THE PAPERWORK.

drac2k:

Your WWII estimate is correct. The 259th Medium Maintenance Ordnance Company saw action in Morotai and the Philippines during WW II. The original posting box is a real bonus.

Ian.

Reference:

Lida Mayo. The United States Army in World War II. The Technical Services. The Ordnance Department on Beachhead and Battlefront. Center of Military, U.S. Army, Washington DC (2009) Accessible online here.

Thank you gentlemen for the kind comments and the information.

Hello Drac2k,
It looks like I'm late to the party, but I just had to congratulate you on such a great score. The only grouping I have in my collection with this kind of provenance is one my wife bought for me a few years back that belonged to a missionary who was in the Philippines in the late 19th century and returned in the early 20th century. My favorite piece of your new acquisitions is the copper bladed dagger. These are becoming harder to find so don't get discouraged if it takes so time to find another one. I have a small collection of copper and brass bladed Philippine knives and daggers and if you are interested you can see most of them here. I have two others that are not shown there that I will be adding later when I have had a chance to take photos of them. Again my congratulations on a great score. http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...t=copper+blade

Best,
Robert

The sergeant whose name and service number appear on the return address enlisted as a private at Cleveland, Ohio in September 1942. His civilian occupation was as an electrician.
A search for the unit listed in the return address shows that the 259th Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company was in the Central Visayan Islands of Panay and Negros in March, 1945. They operated an ordnance service center and civilian garage, both employing civilian mechanics. Seems a likely time and place for the assembly of such a fascinating souvenir assortment to send to the family back home in Ohio.

Hello Drac2k,

congrats for this great catch! I special like the copper bladed dagger and the long sword, I think it's from Bicol.

Best regards,
Detlef

nothing i can add to what everyone else said.
The Panay/Negros provenance is spot on. you could see it on some of the scabbard designs.

Wow Robert, what a great collection of copper blade knives;now I know why I can't find any.........you have them all.Once again gentlemen thank you for all of the compliments and information!
I think it is interesting how one of the knives has an adaptation of a frog for Western wear or that is how it looks to me.

I've seen this frquently by knives and daggers from Luzon.

Was this done for Westerners or was this for local wear?The frog would accommodate a 2" belt and I have seen this type of lanyard on the bottom of the scabbard on U.S. WW2 military bayonets.

I only can guess and think for both, Westerners and locals. :shrug: