Jeff, I'd love to see your sword for comparison. Please post some pics when you get a chance.
I don't want to paraphrase Glen here, so I'll let him address your question/comment. My original intention was just to show off my sword, which i believed might have been made in Philly per Bazelon's 1992 article. In it, he attests that although the first all brass full lion hilts might have been Euro, later additions appeared to be locally made for a list of reasons he detailed in the article and I repeated above. Hotspur/Glen pointed out that this article is very dated and no proof of any of the solid full brass lions have turned up there, thus appearing to be over-seas work that was imported. When you mention Rose and Prahl, you are referring to brass fixtures and later eagle hilt types, but not the lion.
BELIEVE me, I want to believe that this piece is American made for the historical significance of it, but the evidence is lacking. What i am fighting for here is a clear picture that my lion hilt is A) Made for the American market and not elsewhere and B) That it is, in fact, a cavalry sword whether private purchase or not. I don't feel this sword should get the shaft just because it isn't the 'classic' iron hilt of the period. If anything, isn't this type rarer in some ways?
My naval theory was whimsy at it's best and indeed wishful thinking. I presented it simply as a supposition in the face of this sword being (gasp!) private purchase (eauuh!)
. Likewise, as naval types are in such a gray area, one never truly knows for sure unless there's undoubtable provenance.