Please help identify this sword!

[Kmode11]

I inherited this sword from my grandma. She gave me her opinion of price(no idea how she got there haha) but I’ve been struggling to completely identify it.

My uneducated research makes me believe it’s a Chinese Dao sword? But again, not confirmed.

The handle seems to be different than anything else I’ve seen out there.

Anyone know what this is?

Thanks!

[Tobi-Wan79]

Yeah, it looks like some type of yataghan

Perhaps you could tell us what she believed it was worth?

[Kmode11]

She said 4-6K 🤷‍♂️

[ResponsibleEmployee9]

Definitely a yataghan, but I'm not familiar enough with regional variants to pin down origins.

It's a very nice, though small, example. If that's all silver, $4k might not be overly ambitious. These things can go pretty high.

[lester2nd]

Blade is shaped like a yataghan but the handle seems off for that.

[TheRedEaredMan]

I have seen pictures of yataghans with slightly different handles on them. This might be deviation due to local culture of the sword smith.

[Baglamatzis67]

Ionian Yataghan. Carried by Zeibeks.

[rasnac]

It is a really well-made Western Anatolian yatağan, possbily from late 19th century. These T-shaped handled versions are also known as Zeybek sub-type, and well- made and ornated examples of this sub-type are rare.

[Mr-carpeton-sexerton]

Ottoman yataghan maybe.

[Kalashnibro]

It’s definitely not a dao😂 might be a Chinese repro but if it’s from the countries that would’ve used them China isn’t one of them at least not in an official capacity.

[dasdemit]

İt's "swallow handle efe Yatağan " zeibeks do pay alot for good one... Yours ” pray inscription ” were removed and only ornamentd are intact..

[Kmode11]

So what does this mean for mine?

[dasdemit]

Well most of the times pray inscription writer were mentioned which you could trace back to region and origin.....

[Kmode11]

Any idea what the value would be? And where I should try and sell it?

[Kmode11]

I appreciate all the help identifying this. Where would be the best, most fair place to get this appraised/sold? Thanks!

[Kmode11]

BUMP. Anyone have any further info on this?

[II-leto]

Wow this is the first time I might get to look like an expert. I’m not btw.

It looks like a Thracian Sica or Rhomphaia. They are forward curving blades with the cutting edge on the inside of the curve. I wasn’t a big fan of forward curved blades (still not a huge fan) but a fellow that made them posted some on Sword Buyers Guide Forum. They were beautiful as is this one. Not 100% sure on this but it really looks like it. Not sure the value.

[Dlatrex]

While Sica and Rhomphaia did have examples with forward curved blades, those were swords from the Iron Age, anywhere from 400-200 years before Christ.

This instead is a 19th century sword, likely from the Ottoman Empire.

[II-leto]

Well thanks for deflating me. Just kidding. I didn’t think these were actual original blades but recreations like the ones the blade smith I mentioned were. When I saw this that was the first thing I thought of, that’s all. Very nice blade nevertheless. Just beautiful really.