17th Century Walloon swords

[Radboud]

Originally Posted by werecow

EDIT: Also, interesting that this one has a TOLEDO(?) inscription and simple holes iso stars in the guard plates.

There are several other subtle flaws with this example that lead me to suspect it's been restored. As you observe, the pattern of the piercings plus the missing star detail on the holes makes it likely that the plates are replacements.

Furthermore, the pommel shape is off, and it's missing some of the finer details again. Plus, the point where the knuckle bow is joined to the pommel is recessed, something I haven't seen on any originals.

On the TOL inscription, this isn't surprising; a lot of these and other swords for this region have spurious Spanish markings (the most obvious being the Sahagum) and given the history Spain has here, you'd expect their sword smiths to be associated with quality, much like Andreara Ferrara in the British Isles.