I offer for sale an extremely fine Italian falchion which possibly dates to the late 1600's, or could be later, but the nice rice patina inside both the shell guard and the thumb ring and the hard to reach places of the hilt, suggest it is very old indeed. This sword feels wonderful in the hand and is reminiscent of the Venetian naval cutlass.
 
The slightly curved and substantial, clipped pointed, blade is of classical falchion type and measures some 86.5 cms or almost 34 inches in length. The width of the blade at the ricasso is 3.5 cms. The blade has a sharp cutting edge and a narrow flat back. A single narrow and shallow fuller is cut in the blade to within the final 8 inches of the blade. A sharp false edge runs towards the blade tip. The last 2mm of the tip is missing and there is a crescent-shaped 'ding' to the back edge near the clipped point. The blade bears three clear, identical, and repeating geometric talismanic or maker's stamps to the blade, which unfortunately I have been unable to identify.
 
This fine blade has been highly polished many times over its lifetime almost completely obliterating some very fine and casual cursive engraving on one side of the blade, near to the ricasso.
 
It is almost impossible to read this engraving, which I almost missed, but having blown up images of the writings I can detect certain parts of a Germanic (Austrian?) national slogan against the Turkish invasions. It reads "De Tuerken Thuen(?) -------------------- Ganzes Land Verheeren" "The Turkish ------------------------ Whole Country Devastating" There also appears to be an engraved double-headed Imperial eagle surmounted by an Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire within the script. Could this blade perhaps have been used at the Battle of Vienna in 1683 or in the Great Turkish Wars thereafter?
 
Count Ernst Rudiger von Starhemburg, an Austrian subject of The Holy Roman Empire, led the Viennese garrison in defence of the city against the Ottoman invaders at The Battle of Vienna in 1683, and following that success was an Imperial General in The Great Turkish War, which rumbled on for the next 16 years, leading to the Hapsburg Austrians and their allies winning back Hungary; Transylvania, Slavonia and Croatia from the Ottoman Turks.
 
The sword hilt consists of a classic recurved guard with flattened circular terminals, having an upturned shell guard to the front and Germanic thumb ring to the rear. The pommel is pyramidical - classical Italian chiselled and flattened in shape like a shell and the superb ribbed grip is wire bound, (possibly later?) wrapped in twisted iron wires and has 'Turks heads' top and bottom. The blade and hilt are nice and solid, no movement between the two.