Original Item: Only One Available. This is a nice example of the plain nickel Dove Head sword worn by Army NCO's, made by the Solingen-based firm of Weyersberg Kirschbaum & Cie. It has a custom etched nickel plated blade, named to the 40th Field Artillery Regiment, a German regiment that served during WWI. This sword design is a simplified version of the Officer's dove's head sword, without the decorative designs and engraving usually seen on the hilt. It has the standard "P" guard used on German dress swords, with a simple cross guard and plain rain guards (chappes). The hilt is nickel plated steel from what we can tell, and retains most of the nickel plating, with a lovely patina of age.

The scabbard of this example still has good black lacquer, retained at nearly 100%. It does appear to have been repainted at some point, but it was long ago as there is finish crazing in the top coat. The shell is straight, and we cannot see any large dents at all.

The grip is a very nice black celluloid over a wood base. It is wrapped with three strands of twisted nickel-plated wire, with the central strand being much thicker than the outer
two. There is some looseness in the wrappings, probably from the celluloid shrinking a bit. The original red felt blade buffer is still present, however it is definitely worn from age and oxidation.

The 30 ½” blade of this example is in very good condition, and does not show any signs of use or abuse. These were ceremonial swords, and not really intended for cutting. The nickel-plating is just shy of complete, with just a few specs of rust where the plating has worn, mainly on the edge. The plating does show a bit of flaking at the tip, and has some oxidation under the chappe. The etched designs on the blade are very nice, showing "crossed cannons" and other designs on one side, surrounding the regimental designation in Black Letter Type with a lovely blued background retained very well:

Altmärk. Feld - Art. - Regt. - No 40.

The Altmark Field Artillery Regiment No. 40 was an association of the Prussian Army , which existed from 1899 to 1919. The association became on October 1, 1899 (Foundation Day) as field artillery regiment No. 40 from the II. Department of the field artillery regiment "Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria" (Magdeburgisches) No. 4 , as well as the 9th and 11th battery of the Posenchen Field Artillery Regiment No. 20 set up. The regiment had its garrison in Burg near Magdeburg and was subordinate to the 7th Field Artillery Brigade .

On January 27, 1902, Kaiser Wilhelm II issued the army order that the associations, which had previously been run without a rural designation, were given an extension of their name in order to better differentiate them and to develop tradition. From this point on, the regiment was called Altmärkisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 40.

With the outbreak of the First World War , the regiment mobilized with staff, 1st and 2nd divisions and initially took part in the fighting in neutral Belgium in conjunction with the 7th Field Artillery Brigade in the 7th Infantry Division . Then it advanced to France and took part in the battles for Le Cateau , the Marne and the Aisne and in Flanders . During the trench warfare in the Artois , the 3rd battery for the formation of Field Artillery Regiment No. 103 was surrendered. In the further course of the year the regiment was in the Lorettoschlacht and theInvolved in the Battle of Loos . After position battles in Artois and Flanders, the brigade association was disbanded during the Battle of the Somme and the regiment was directly subordinated to the 7th Infantry Division from October 3, 1916. On January 7, 1917, the regiment was then a III. Department expanded as directed by the War Department . Until the end of the war, the regiment remained in constant use on the western front .

The other side of the blade has a lovely etched landscape showing a horse-drawn artillery train, with numerous soldiers. Above this are 3 overlapping horse heads.

The reverse ricasso is stamped with the double trademark "King's Head" alongside a "Knights's Head" logo of legendary maker Weyersberg Kirschbaum & Cie of Solingen, over the firms initials of W.K & C. This trademark is used on private purchase blades and walking-out bayonets during the WWI period and prior. Unfortunately the chappe/rainguard completely covers this area, so photographing the logo is impossible.

Overall a very good condition high quality NCO sword, named to a WWI German Regiment, made by a legendary German sword maker, based in Solingen, the "City of Blades" in Western Germany. Ready to hang on the wall!