1. Don’t polish it hard. Buried patina is history.
2. A jeweller can do a non-destructive XRF test to know if it’s gold, and how much.
3. Photograph the hilt, pommel, any script. Sometimes the maker hides in the art, not in the marks.
With care.
Yvonne & The Sphinx
The Vaulted Shelf
Rating
Victorian Desk Piece - For a man’s hand on a rich man’s desk by: Yvonne
Maharba,
thanks for reaching out Francis, so glad you found us!
Looking at this desk piece, with the cross guard, the Fleur-de-lis & acanthus scroll plus beaded terminals, that’s a classic Victorian Gilded Age desk ornament. The twisted rope grip, the ornate pommel…this was made to look impressive on a rich man’s desk in a Massachusetts mansion. Not a weapon. A letter opener. A status piece.
See the pale, almost silvery grey metal, with darker buildup in the crevices? That’s dirt and tarnish in the carving. It doesn’t read as solid yellow gold in this light. It reads like silver, silver-plated brass. Gold doesn’t tarnish like that. Silver does.
You’re right Francis, there’s nothing clear on cross guard or grip in this shot. Victorian US makers often put tiny marks on the blade spine or inside the pommel, if it unscrews. Many desk pieces were made by silver plate firms like Roger’s, Meriden, or Pairpoint and left unmarked.
Based on this photo, Francis, I cannot call it gold. The tone, the tarnish pattern, the soil in the carving all point to silver plate, not gold. Only an XRF test or jewellers acid check can be sure. The age of this piece would be between 1890-1910, right about the same time when that mansion was new and rich.
Maker is unknown from this photo. Francis, can you check the blade spine and unscrew the pommel, you may find "STERLING", "COIN", "MERIDEN B CO" or a monogram.
THE VALUE IS THE BURIAL FRANCIS: Victorian mansion, buried underground, rich past owner. That’s a 120 year desk ritual, dug right back up. To a collector of Gilded Age ephemera, that story beats melt every time.
