Collecting lesson

[JackADriscoll]

I saw this really neat bayonet for sale as a civil war Enfield bayonet. I noticed it didn't have the extension to the muzzle ring like the 1856 Enfield but my dumb reptile brain was thinking it may be some cool rare variant. Guess what? It's an 1874 Turkish Peabody bayonet. 75 dollar lesson learned. The lesson? It's probably not a rare variant you're probably just silly m

 

[RedRover]

Well, the Ottoman Empire (1285-1923) is interesting. And moreso, as I understand it the Martini-Peabody rifles of the Ottoman's of the 1870s were made in the USA by the Providence Tool Company.

Peabondy-Martini Arms of the Ottomans...The Turkish Connection.

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

You didn't buy it from our "friend" on eBay did you? If you did, we are going to hold you up as our real-life example!

 

[JackADriscoll]

Well, the Ottoman Empire (1285-1923) is interesting. And moreso, as I understand it the Martini-Peabody rifles of the Ottoman's of the 1870s were made in the USA by the Providence Tool Company.

Peabondy-Martini Arms of the Ottomans...The Turkish Connection.

View attachment 505165

That's a great read thank you. And no I wish I had it would have added some drama

 

[7thWisconsin]

I bought a bayonet I couldn´t identify once for $20 at a yardsale. Turned out to be for a Spanish Mauser. I don´t have a Spanish Mauser, but it´s cool anyway.

 

[UCVRelics]

I saw this really neat bayonet for sale as a civil war Enfield bayonet.

Live and learn. In the words of my good friend @Lanyard Puller. "Your first purchase should be a reference book"

 

[JackADriscoll]

Live and learn. In the words of my good friend @Lanyard Puller. "Your first purchase should be a reference book"

Ive got the books. I was blinded by thinking I was reinventing the wheel.

 

[R. Porter]

Of course if you know nothing of the Peabody bayonet, you might have a rare variant due to its actual manufacture or its historical association with a person, place or event in history. That would require research and the acquisition of research materials like books and monographs. By the time you finish you might hold that bayonet in high esteem and be familiar enough with that bayonet and others that you won't mistake them for something else. You might find that you received more than your money's worth when you bought that bayonet. At least you have a cool looking bayonet that is real and not a fantasy piece made in China during the past 10 years and distressed to look 160 years older.

 

[CWLeadManiac]

You didn't buy it from our "friend" on eBay did you? If you did, we are going to hold you up as our real-life example!

I hope not!! Lol!!! I think our "friend" gets his pieces from India or Pakistan, or he finds old kitchen knives and "embellishes" them

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

I saw this really neat bayonet for sale as a civil war Enfield bayonet. I noticed it didn't have the extension to the muzzle ring like the 1856 Enfield but my dumb reptile brain was thinking it may be some cool rare variant. Guess what? It's an 1874 Turkish Peabody bayonet. 75 dollar lesson learned. The lesson? It's probably not a rare variant you're probably just silly m

View attachment 505164

What did the seller description actually say that convinced you it might be a rare variation?

 

[MAJOR DUNDEE]

If you dislike your bayonets, bury them in some places , it may happen, in many years, that someone discovers one ; he'd probably never understand why a turkish or spanish bayonet is doing into America.

 

[R. Porter]

If you dislike your bayonets, bury them in some places , it may happen, in many years, that someone discovers one ; he'd probably never understand why a turkish or spanish bayonet is doing into America.

How many diggers did something like that back in the '70's with the idea of increasing their future income? I wonder if there are groups of reproductions or even original artifacts that were buried so the could be dug up on a " battlefield " or "campsite" and sold as authentic, but have been forgotten and are lying in wait.

 

[JoeCollector]

Ive got the books. I was blinded by thinking I was reinventing the wheel.

Don't beat yourself up , I'm sure all of us have tinkered with the wheel . It happens.

 

[RedRover]

How many diggers did something like that back in the '70's with the idea of increasing their future income? I wonder if there are groups of reproductions or even original artifacts that were buried so the could be dug up on a " battlefield " or "campsite" and sold as authentic, but have been forgotten and are lying in wait.

I've heard stories... to the effect that instead of being "forgotten" they are retrieved/discovered in company with witnesses to the rare "find." If true, the rationale might be imagined.

 

[Old Soldier]

When you look at a real P1856 bayonet, you can see the difference:

BTW - most were made in Solingen, Germany.

 

[Present Arms]

There is a very good book, How Do You Know It's Old?, by Harold L. Peterson which includes the admission and instruction that he made bad buys because he convinced himself that what he wanted to be authentic, was indeed authentic. Self-delusion is a powerful force and its counter-weight is sober research and self-discipline to take a pass on the doubtful.

 

[JackADriscoll]

When you look at a real P1856 bayonet, you can see the difference:
View attachment 509175
BTW - most were made in Solingen, Germany.

The irony was the Turkish bayonet was far more valuable than a run of the mill Enfield. It was a German blade too. I'll just never have a Peabody rifle

 

[Ethan S.]

Don't feel bad, every collector gets burned sooner or later. My first mistake was a $500 fake luftwaffe cap. Even if it was real, it would have been insanely overpriced.

 

[Old Soldier]

My 'questionable purchase' was three bayonets from Germany - advertised as simply 'three old bayonets'. All were pitted with no scabbards. One was a Mauser M1884 - a VERY rare bayonet for the magazine M1871/1884 rifle - the first 'knife bayonet'. It was rarely used with the rifle as it was not considered long enough and it's rarity was because most were converted for the M1895 during WW1. It seemed to have been 'renovated' and parkerised. *These were also made for Spain, Chile and Argentina by Germany and for Romania by Austria - marked OEWG - but for an 8mm barrel and will not fit the M1871/84 (11mm). Many of these are sold as Mauser originals. This is why this was a bit of a gamble. However, all three cost less than half the price of one of the rarer ones.

Another was an Austro-Hungarian M1890 - another rarity as this was for the few Mannlicher M1890 mountain troops carbines - the first of the new Mannlicher rotary straight pull rifles. It's only downer was a strange handgrip which should have been wood. The other one was an Italian M1891 (Carcarno). True, they were well pitted, but with a bit of effort - and care - they were quite presentable. OK, so they were not mint or even 'good' but when they are that rare ...

 

[bayonet]

Happens to us all. The difference is how well you recover from it. Why I actually love Credit Cards. You get the item and it's fake, damaged, or not what they say it is. You just send it back, demand a refund, and if they refuse call your Credit Card company and dispute the charge. Recently an Auction House claimed a sword blade was etched but hard to tell from the photos. Being me I bid the lowest and won. When I got it the blade was cast and a fake/repro but the handle/grip was original. Contacted them, sent it back, and they refunded me.
Had a well known Dealer I brought many items from, he has even been mentioned on this website awhile back. Got a Rev War musket from him but closer examination after I got it, it had 2 small letters that when researched it was a Gunsmith that was in business right after the Rev War. I kept quiet, and months later he had another Rev War musket I really wanted and I knew was 100% legit. Traded the one I had back to him and gave him like $500 more. He put it back up on his website and sold it months later.
On bayonets I had a hard time finding ones to fit my Rev War muskets. After getting 2-3 that did not fit I took the musket to a show and the 3rd to last table found one that fit perfectly. Traded all of them to him for that one and to sweeten the deal I think I gave him $50. I was happy even at a slight loss. I still have 1 period bayonet in my closet that didn't fit, any takers on it?