New bolo with interesting coin pommel

[wildwolberine]

Sharing what I believe is a nice old Philippines sword from the late 19th century. Very nice horn hilt with age cracks. Fine, tapered blade. Brass guard and ferrule. The blade’s tang extends through the hilt and is peened over a Spanish coin dated 1878. I thought that aspect a bit unusual. A forum search for “Philippines” and “coin” shows a few items with coins as decorative but not necessarily structural elements. Are there other examples of Philippines swords with coins used as pommels?

Overall length 62 cm
Blade length 39 cm
Spine 5 mm at hilt
Blade width 3.5 cm at widest point

[Ian]

Hello WW.

This is a nice old 19th C Spanish colonial short sword that you to have. The grooves on the hilt would have held twisted wire originally, perhaps iron or brass. There appears to be a small ricasso with some sort of faint markings.

The use of coins on the pommel is not common on Philippine swords, but does occur occasionally. The bronze coin on your sword is a Spanish 10 centime coin from the period of Alfonso XII.

The attached pics are the coin from your pommel and an online picture of the 1878 Spanish 10 centime coin.

.

[Sajen]

Nice Luzon bolo!