On the right hand side of the blade at the bottom is 18 62, on the Left is a half circle shaped stamp with JAMES CONNING forming the Arch, and MOBILE forming the base, this stamp appears slightly off level, but both the JAMES CONNING, and MOBILE are in line with each other like they were a single stamp, the J in James appears to be damaged. 55 Is stamped on the top of the Hilt behind the Blade, and again at the very tip of the Scabbard on the Flat area on the Right hand side. Both the 55's appear to have been stamped as two separate 5's not a single stamp. CSA is Etched on the middle of the Right hand side of the blade, just below the Blood Groove, and are sized from the Groove to about an eighth of an inch from the Blade Edge, and the letters themselves are maybe a quarter inch wide I'm guessing. There a little shinier than the rest of the blade otherwise they would be unnoticeable, they are beneath the Patina, and have pitting on top, and appear to match the condition of the rest of the Blade. There are no other markings that I can see.
The Hilt, and Pommel are solid Brass, and appear to be Forged, there seperate pieces from each other with the Hilt fitting in to the Pommel, there is no "nipple" on the Pommel, but there is a discolored circular area, but this appears to be under the Patina, the grip is a dark colored wood with Braided Brass Wire around it inside grooves, there is an old chip in the grip on the inside near against the Pommel, that appears worn, and covered in the same heavy Patina as the rest of the Grip, the Grip has a crack in it on the Right sides against the Hilt going back straight maybe 2 inches in the direction of the Pommel from what I assume is drying out, the crack looks fresh, no more than a decade, or 2 old if that much.
The Scabbard appears to be either Steel, with a few minor dents, the "Swivel?" closest to the Hilt is starting to come apart with the ring begginnig to open up. The whole thing seems to be covered in an even Patina consistent with the Handle, and Blade, there is light frosting over most of it forming lines all running the same way, except for near the Hilt , where there is none, and there is a clear line of demarcation between the two areas, almost like it was dipped in water, or something by holding the grip.
The Blade is covered in the same Patina as everything else, and has an even frosting (And no lines, or cut off points like the Scabbard), with some areas with slightly heavier pitting, like on both sides maybe 2/3 of the way down towards the tip, with the heaviest area running from about 2/3 down to about 10 inches from the tip (But the last 10 inches still heavier than the first 2/3s of the blade.), it looks like the sword may have been put away wet. The blade feels slightly uneven when running my hand along it like it was hand forged, and you can just barely make out some of the unevenness looking at the back of the blade, but you really have to try, and be looking for it.
There is no active rust that I can see, and everything has a matching Patina, the blade was covered in some sort of black grease, and there is still some more inside the Scabbard.
So what do you think? Do I have an original? What do you think it's worth? (I don't plan on selling it, I'm just curious.)
Does anyone have any closeup pictures of this same model?, particularly the markings?