Page 52 - JOA August 2020

Civil War Collector continued from previous page

Q: I recently bought this
Civil War sword from
another collector, and
I’m trying to find out if
it is real or fake. D. H.
Cooper was indeed a
general in the Confed-
erate Army. I am trying
to find someone who A Confederate sword with a faked etching
would be able to give a
COA, or tell me for sure
that it is fake. a few pics. I would like to get
I realize there are some feedback on it if possible.
thousands of fake Civil
War items out there. JS: Get your money back. The
I know the British sword is of the era, but the sans
supplied both sides with serif “GEN D H COOPER"
arms and weapons, but I etched panel on the blade is not
The “DH Cooper” etching is don’t know much in a style ever seen on a genuine
in a typestyle never seen on a beyond that. The person sword. Note how out of sync
Confederate sword. I bought this from said I the other etching appears which
could get my down is original to the sword.
payment money back,
but I want to be sure before I commit the rest of the money. I have attached

John Sexton is an independent appraiser and expert in 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 mclwriter@gmail.com..

Continued from page 48
You Sunk My Battleship! The mass-market success story for Battleship came in 1967 when
Since so many people have been spending extra time at home during Milton Bradley introduced the plastic board-and-peg version of the
the pandemic, it’s not surprising that the topic of board games has con- game to great success. In both the paper and plastic versions of the
tinued to pop up. For those looking for some fun and a brief escape game, players work off of two 10-by-10 grids, which are labeled with
from reality, perhaps it’s ironic that many have turned to war. numbers vertically and letters horizontally. The primary grid, usually
War has long served as an inspiration for tabletop games, and larger, tracks a player’s own ships, while the tracking grid records their
perhaps one of the best-known mass-market success stories in the genre shot attempts on their opponent. Before the rounds of play begin, each
is Battleship. Though known player arranges their ships (out of view of their opponent) on their
today as a successful plastic primary grid. There are generally five ships, which occupy
board game (now available as two to five spaces on a grid
an online game), the original depending on what kind of
iteration of Battleship dates ship they are. Ships are accord-
back to World War I when it ingly sunk when they are hit
was played as a pencil and enough times. Players typically
paper game. announce what type of ship has
The original Battleship’s been sunk when it happens –
origins are somewhat leading to the game’s trademark
muddled – some believe it line, “you sunk my battleship!”
took inspiration from the When all of a player’s ships have
French game L’Attaque (a sunk, they lose the game.
title which would eventual- Milton Bradley’s success with
ly go onto influence anoth- the game has continued on
er widely-known board through the decades since the
game, Stratego), while oth- original plastic version release,
ers insist it evolved from particularly with 1977’s
the 1890 game by E.I. Electronic Battleship and 1989’s
Horseman, called Baslinda. The paper-based version of Battleship was Electronic Talking Battleship,
first published in 1931 by Starex when it was called Salvo; other which added sound effects to make play more exciting. The company
companies would publish variants on the concept throughout the 1930s released an updated version of the game in 2008, currently referred to
and ‘40s. These companies included the Strathmore Company as Battleship Islands; the game accordingly added several islands to each
(Combat, The Battleship Game), Milton Bradley (Broadsides, The player’s board which ships must be placed around, and “captured man”
Game of Naval Strategy), L.R. Gebert Company (Sink It), and the pieces can be found on the islands. Even after 50 years, kids and kids at
Maurice L. Freedman Company (Warfare Naval Combat). heart still seem to enjoy hearing “you sunk my battleship!”

50 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles