WWII US Navy officer's Sword -
A sword is a long, edged piece of metal, used in many civilizations throughout the world, primarily as a cutting or thrusting weapon and occasionally for clubbing.

As technology advances, the place for the sword as a weapon has diminished. Its role now is that of a show of status and pride. Perhaps the last modern American sword design for combat was the Patton saber .

This is a US Navy sword. As issued to officers during WWII.

The US Navy employed swods that were more ornamental than the other branches of service. The design of the swords consists of a wire wrapped handle with either ray or shark granulated skin. The handguard is a dolphin with its head attaching to the pommel. Just below the pommel is a small section of laurel leafs pointing downwardly.

The crossgurad is fairly large and ornate. It blends into the handguard. One side has a flowery pattern with the letters USN casted on it. The opposite side has a curved dolphin head.

The scabbard has exposed metal and metal covered in black leather parts combined. The throat, mid section and tip are of brass construction. the balance is of leather covered. Some of The metal sections have castings in the shape of rope. The tip has a dolphin following the lower half of its perimeter.

The interesting aspect about this sword is that several of its parts have the number 87 stamped on them. This condition is known as matching numbers. This means that when the sword was put together the factory took care to specify that all these components belonged specifically to one sword. As time goes by, through normal use, parts are damaged and replaced. Making the sword non-matching.

The example shown here retains several of the matching parts.