The Ayzavilla or Crowned T Bilbos mistery solved

midelburgo · 22nd September 2025, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

This is amazing! but I am puzzled.

If I understand the AYZAVILLA with the flaming T is from the new factory at Toledo from 1761+ ??
However, the same T marking occurs on the M1728 swords from the family ARRIVILLAGA of Tolosa in Basque country?

It seems that Nuemann ("Swords and Blades of the American Revolution", 1972) shows one of these M1728 with flaming T and AYZAVILLA on blade and suggests use the the Galvez campaigns.

That was my 2018 hypothesis.
Later I had another hypothesis trying to bind a movement of Eibar armourers to Trubia (starting with T) when Basque Country weapon factories were destroyed by the French in 1793. Some 500 of them went to work in Trubia and Oviedo. Trubia made bayonets and Oviedo muskets.

I was busy with this one when the blade with the complete spelling, ARRIVILLAGA surfaced.

It was never AYZAVILLA, it was a badly struck ARRIVILLAGA, missing letters.
And that the workshop was at Tolosa matches nicely with the crowned T.

There are still some threads to work with. I have one of those swoords that was found is a barn in Louisiana. In order o link it to Galvez we will need to know when were they made.

Jim McDougall · 23rd September 2025, 01:31 AM

This is remarkable!

Sooner or later the facts behind these old swords come to light.
So the flaming T has nothing to do with Toledo, and it has seemed known that these 'bilbos' were from Basque country, with suggestions of Eibar.

I had always presumed these most commonly went into Cuba, and from there diffused throughout New Spain. Bernardo de Galvez (1746-1786) and governed Spanish Louisiana and Cuba and was Viceroy of New Spain.

The Spanish assistance to the colonists in the Revolutionary War is seldom recognized, but Galvez and his forces were key in interference with the British and supplying Colonial forces.

It seems that most records in the Basque and other areas focus on the production of muskets and bayonets, but as usual no mention of swords.

It seems reasonable to presume these M1728 examples with what you have revealed as ARRIVILLAGA were likely made in Tolosa, probably by Francisco Arrivillaga ? as he worked 1736-60.

Any chance of pictures of the example found in the Louisiana barn? what a treasure!

23rd September 2025, 01:31 AM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,672	This is remarkable! Sooner or later the facts behind these old swords come to light. So the flaming T has nothing to do with Toledo, and it has seemed known that these 'bilbos' were from Basque country, with suggestions of Eibar. I had always presumed these most commonly went into Cuba, and from there diffused throughout New Spain. Bernardo de Galvez (1746-1786) and governed Spanish Louisiana and Cuba and was Viceroy of New Spain. The Spanish assistance to the colonists in the Revolutionary War is seldom recognized, but Galvez and his forces were key in interference with the British and supplying Colonial forces. It seems that most records in the Basque and other areas focus on the production of muskets and bayonets, but as usual no mention of swords. It seems reasonable to presume these M1728 examples with what you have revealed as ARRIVILLAGA were likely made in Tolosa, probably by Francisco Arrivillaga ? as he worked 1736-60. Any chance of pictures of the example found in the Louisiana barn? what a treasure!