The Civil War Sword Scam

by John Sexton

Q: I acquired the following sword from a 77-year-old gentleman (Winston) for $5,000, who said the sword originally belonged to his great-great-grandfather, who was from Kentucky. The old gentleman said that he remembers playing with it as a boy and getting “the switch” for getting caught cutting corn stalks with it. He is to get me his great-great-grandfather’s exact name, etc., so I can research his war records, which should be interesting. Anyway, I’d like to get your initial evaluation of the sword from the attached photos.

Winstons fake

JS: I regret to say, but Winston’s story is fake, except maybe for his age. I have seen similar scams before, where an old conman would claim to have a rare Civil War item, usually a sword, that belonged to their ancestor, and they needed money for some urgent reason, like expensive medicine or funeral expenses for a spouse. Social media makes these scams easier. This sword and the style it is etched with are not old, so either Winston is lying, or someone swapped his real family sword with this one; this has happened before.

Winstons fake 2 1
McElroy never manufactured this pattern hilt, and this fanciful blade etch is reminiscent style of a different maker.
Winstons fake 5 1

I seldom hear of refunds, and since he returned your money after speaking to me, maybe Winston is honest, but he never used this sword as a child, as he claimed. Anyway, the sword in the photos was first sold by a Conyers, Georgia company in the 1980s-1990s, but without the “McElroy” markings that I only saw recently.

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Examples of original etched and stamped “McElroy” markings.
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An original Confederate officer’s sword with an etched blade in good condition costs over $10,000. You can get this same reproduction sword with the same markings for $90 at ww2gear.com, labeled as a copy, without the fake aging or “story.” “Caveat Emptor / Buyer Beware.”

www.ww2gear.com/p-14534-wj-mcelroy-civil-war-sword-with-etched-blade.aspx

John Sexton is an independent appraiser and expert on Civil War memorabilia. He is an accredited member of various appraiser organizations. He can be contacted at 770-329-4984. If you have a Civil War item for him to appraise, email a photo and a description to him at: CivilWarAppraiser@gmail.com.

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