This is the British 1822 pattern officers’ sword of the Victorian era. “The precise origins of this pattern of hilt remain obscure. The copying of French military fashion after 1815, under the influence of George, Prince Regent, leads one to look for a clue in that direction but no French sword of this period resembles the ‘Gothic Hilt’, which may conceivably owe something to Prosser who supplied the Prince Regent with numerous swords and scabbards at this time. In the 1822 Dress Regulations, it is described as ‘a gilt half-basket hilt with GR IV inserted in the outward bars’. The reference to ‘outward bars’ is significant because this guard is, in essence a three bar guard,  with the bars linked by tracery. In its early form, the inner panel of the guard was hinged to fall down to allow the hilt to lie closer to the wearer’s body, and the scabbard has a small pin which fits into the guard. [Note: I have not seen this on any of my examples, but I have seen it on the 1827 pattern naval officers sword which has a very similar guard with the exception of the bars being filled in and the royal cypher replaced by a crowned fouled anchor] The hilt had a black leather lining to protect the wearer’s hand and gloves.

The blade was also entirely new in infantry swords, being a slender, slightly curved, pipe-backed design, double edged for the last few inches … The scabbard was black leather with decorated brass mounts.”

• Robson, Brian. Swords of the British Army – The Regulation Patterns 1788 – 1914. Pages 156 – 157. 

This example is in good solid condition with absolutely no movement to any parts and a crisp folding guard. The brass guard is a bit tarnished with age, but without damage. The wire around the grip is all present with no loose strands or wear. The blade is bright and relatively clean with a few minor nicks to the blade and one particular troublesome rust spot. There are no makers marks to either side of the forte, nor on the spine of the blade. The sole marking to the blade is the royal cypher of Queen Victoria on both sides. The remains of the scabbard that came with this sword consist of just the middle band with a small amount of leather attached.

The general design of this sword lasted throughout the reign of King George IV, King William IV and Queen Victoria. It thus will be found with three potential cyphers, sometimes styled differently: GR IV, WR IV and VR. You may also find examples with VRI when Queen Victoria adopted the additional title of Empress of India on 1 May 1876. 

Victoria became Queen in 1837. In 1845, the blade of this sword pattern changes to that of the Wilkinson style blade. With that in consideration, it would place the dating of this particular sword from 1837 – 1845.

Another interesting observation on this sword is that the tang button is peened or cast into the shape of a flower instead of just being hammered down to secure the handle/guard.