Spanish Army Officers Sword of 1943 - Copy/Replica

Collection #: 2020.689
Type: Sabre for Army Officers (Copy)
Nationality: Spanish
Pattern: Espada Sable Puerto Seguro Reglamento de 1943 (Copy)
Date: 2nd half 20th Century
Hilt: Gilt Brass Quarter-Basket Hilt
Blade Length: 76.5cm (30.12")
Blade Width: 2cm (.79")
Overall Length: 95cm (37.4")
Maker: ???
Blade Markings: Toledo, Spain - as this sword is a copy, it is most likely not reliable
Spanish 1943 Pattern

Description & Background

This sword is a copy of an Espada Sable Puerto Seguro Reglamento de 1943 or Safe Harbor Saber Sword Regulations of 1943 (Google Translate) for officers of the Spanish Army.  It is in almost new condition. This model was introduced on January 27th, 1943 for chiefs and officers of the entire Spanish army.

There are no scuffs to the gold-coloured guard. No chips to the black chequered plastic grip. There is no looseness in grip, guard or blade. It has a lion’s head pommel with an assembly screw on the lion’s head. The guard consists of St. John’s Eagle and the Cross of Santiago painted (somewhat carelessly) in red. The chequered plastic grip plates are held to the grip by two brass screws.

The blade is entirely clean and contains a single fuller. The only marking on the blade is also what primarily identifies it as a copy or replica. The right side of the blade is marked Toledo Spain. If this was a regulation piece, it would be marked Real Fábrica de Armas de Toledo or FABRICA NACIONAL TOLEDO. Above the blade marking is a cloth washer that rests at the top of the blade and cushions it against the scabbard.

The scabbard is one piece with a single band for the loose ring. There are no markings on the scabbard.

Regulation dimensions for this sword are:

Blade: 80cm

Blade Width: 2cm

Blade Thickness: 5mm

Total Length: 96cm

Total weight: 1140gr

For the most part, this replica matches these dimensions except the blade length is 76.5cm (which will also create a discrepancy in the total length and weight).

So why put a replica sword in an online museum? For the simple fact that these pieces are out there and there is very little information on them. Collectors and researchers need to be aware of them so that they can accurately identify the real from the fake.

There is not a lot of information available on this sword. What information there is, is mostly in Spanish – so I had to rely on Google Translate for some of it. My Thanks to several Spanish collectors that I was able to connect with on the International Sword Forum. They provided a good deal of the information.

Additional sources:

Gallery