The Italian eBay Sword

1/4/2016

As #Swordgate was first ramping up, it came to light that a sword which appeared identical to the "Roman sword" allegedly from Nova Scotia was for sale on Italian eBay for about $176 (Canadian) with shipping. The purchaser (Trevor Furlotte) just sent me a bunch of very nice photos of the recently-delivered sword. He has given me permission to reproduce them.

As you can see, the eBay sword appears to be a copper alloy (it is non-magnetic) and has more detail than the iron Design Toscano swords. The blade appears to be a little shorter than the Nova Scotia sword but the figure on the hilt is identical. There appear to be clear signs of grinding on the side of the figure, presumably to remove lines from the mold. The extent of grinding appears nowhere near as extensive as what is visible on the Design Toscano sword, however (mine basically looks like someone took a disc grinder to poor Hercules from his wrists to his ankles).

Without seeing this sword (or the alleged "Roman sword" from Nova Scotia) firsthand and still without any metallurgical analysis, I will cautiously say that seeing these pictures only strengthens my feeling that my hypothesis of two generations of swords (neither one from ancient Rome) is essentially correct. My guess is that this sword, the Nova Scotia sword, and the other brass/bronze swords floating around out there were produced sometime in the 1800's or maybe even more recently.

No word from Furlotte yet as to whether his sword has any magical powers.

Update (1/5/2016): I have added a close-up of the figure's upper body.

26 Comments

Peter Geuzen

1/4/2016 04:03:21 pm

The gofundme campaign limits me to Visa/MC/Discover (whether this is location linked I don't know) so being one that gets by just with AmX, a contribution can’t be made. Is a PayPal Donate widget an option?

Is there a bigger/better frontal picture of just the hilt of the eBay sword (similar to no.3 which shows the back)?

Who, at this point, officially owns the sword alleged to have been found off Oak Island? I can't seem to find a clear answer.

Andy White

1/5/2016 07:17:38 am

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like PayPal is an option. Bummer. Maybe you could just wrap a brick in $50 bills and throw it at my house.

Trevor Furlotte

1/5/2016 09:24:57 am

Either the production company or the brothers. I was told brothers but a recent former employee of OITI said that he shipped it to the production company offices in New York before he left the company.

Andy White

1/4/2016 04:39:14 pm

I will investigate the payment options. Thanks for trying to contribute.

I've asked Furlotte (sword owner) for a picture of the front. Hopefully I'll be able to post one tomorrow.

sword skeptic

1/4/2016 07:21:08 pm

Assuming that he doesn't have special photo lighting inside that he take some pics outdoors. Overcast days are great days for outdoor sword photography. Sometimes a shady place will be adequate for good diffused lighting, too.

Trevor Furlotte

1/5/2016 09:25:59 am

Android S5 is as good as it gets for this photographer

SwordHoax

1/4/2016 08:49:52 pm

The questions to ask Pulitzer: Why haven't you turned over the sword to the Nova Scotian government? Are you aware you're suppose to turn that kind of find over? Especially if it falls under the Oak Island Treasure Act.

The Novia Scotia legislature was none too happy back in 2014. Can't post a link so google, "Nova Scotia Legislature Assembly 62 Session 2" Toward the bottom is the Oak Island stuff. A member of the government claims they aren't turning over allegedly found items like they're suppose to. They even claim the show found a spear and it hadn't been turned over at the time of the Assembly. Swordgate has bigger implications that just being real or not.

Andy White

1/5/2016 04:02:26 am

I'm not under the impression that Pulitzer has possession of the sword. It's only hearsay, but I've heard that the sword is owned by either Prometheus Entertainment or the Laginas or their company. I don't know anything about the legality of removing supposed "artifacts" from Nova Scotia. Perhaps the exodus of the sword is a clue that it is not considered an authentic ancient artifact by anyone involved other than Pulitzer. Pure speculation on my part.

George Johnston

1/5/2016 04:28:44 am

Okay, here's what I can say on the sword.

I can't speak to how the sword came to the island, nor can I speak to testing, etc., that happened prior to me joining OITI. However, I had the sword in my possession in late October, early November. I was asked to ship it to New York by an executive from Prometheus Entertainment.
The sword is roughly 2 feet long and extremely heavy and really tarnished. It looks to be an exact copy of the one on ebay. I sent it to New York with an estimated weight of 35lbs. It certainly weighs more than the 2-3 lbs that I've seen bantered around.
I was also told by someone with more knowledge on it than I, that it is circa 1800. This is hearsay, and I have no way to corroborate that, so take with a grain of salt. My opinion only, I tend to think that it is not Roman. I am however, not an arms expert, nor a historian on the Roman era.
Also, I do not know who actually owns it, OITI, or Prometheus.

George Johnston

1/5/2016 04:32:53 am

The sword was shipped overnite to the States and cleared both Canada and U.S. Customs with no issues.

George Johnston

1/5/2016 04:26:53 am

Artifacts found on the island have to be turned over to the Province as per the Oak Island Act and the conditions stipulated in the TTL (Treasure Trove License). This "sword" was found in the waters of Mahone Bay and neither would apply.

Bob Jase

1/5/2016 07:24:49 am

And you can document this?

Trevor Furlotte

1/5/2016 09:28:15 am

"This "sword" was found in the waters of Mahone Bay and neither would apply."
Allegedly found in the water right George?

George Johnston

1/5/2016 05:30:17 pm

Trevor, yes found in the waters, not on the island. If found on the island it would have to be turned over to the Province. Even Hutton states it was found in the waters.

Andy White

1/5/2016 06:56:44 pm

I am very skeptical it was actually found in the water. There has been just as much convincing evidence presented of that as that there is a Roman shipwreck out there: zero.

George Johnston

1/5/2016 08:14:22 am

Bob, see what I wrote above, no I cannot corroborate what I was told, hence my statement on the "hearsay". I however, have no reason to lie about it.

Peter Geuzen

1/5/2016 09:24:55 am

side by side with shadows knocked out of the eBay (now New Brunswick) sword; click to enlarge

http://imgur.com/fpb5fH6

George Johnston

1/5/2016 05:31:28 pm

Great comparison, you've sold me...

Peter Geuzen

1/6/2016 07:12:44 am

Comparison of all five swords:

http://imgur.com/Rgj8bwF

shadow correction added to all but the pic of the alleged Oak Island sword

Andy White

1/6/2016 07:19:55 am

Nice. I can email you a more "straight on" image of the Design Toscano sword that is sitting on my desk right now if you like.

Andy White

1/6/2016 07:24:59 am

Sent.

Peter Geuzen

1/6/2016 07:43:51 am

UPDATED to include Andy's 'Design Toscano' example

http://imgur.com/BQoPO7e

Andy White

1/6/2016 07:49:42 am

Nice. The California sword is the only one that preserves much detail in the raised areas of the paws of the lion skin, Hercules' beard, and the grain of the wood in his club. It will be interesting to see what other details are present. It's on its way here now - the FedEx tracker says it left Pacoima, CA, yesterday.

Andy White

1/6/2016 08:02:02 am

I'm going to create a new post linking directly to your image.

Peter Geuzen

1/6/2016 08:19:25 am

I should note as well, if you click to enlarge it and then... right click>save as...you can save an even larger version to your computer.

Andy White

1/6/2016 08:26:26 am

It's up: http://www.andywhiteanthropology.com/blog/a-hilt-to-hilt-comparison-of-the-known-swords

The Italian eBay Sword

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