EL7239 - A rare Georgian Yeoman Warder's sword. This model of sword, carrying the Hanoverian horse emblem on the guard, seems to have come into service around 1727, and stayed in use until Queen Victoria took the throne in 1837, upon which the emblem changed to a crown (and that is what it still is today). Although the emblem changed, this basic form of sword has remained in use by the Yeoman at the Tower of London to the current day. This example is Georgian, but as the design remained constant, it is difficult to be more precise than that. The blade is double edged, has even grey patina, and curiously is quite sharp. The brass parts of the hilt have traces of the original gilding remaining in the recesses. The original wire wrap of the grip has been replaced with some kind of cord, but this looks old and suits the sword - it could even be a period replacement. There is some movement in the hilt assembly, as the washer has gone from under the shoulders of the blade. The Royal Collection has a few dozen of these Georgian Yeoman Warder's swords at Windsor Castle and you can search them online, but they are very rare to find on the open market and have been wrongly described by some as Hanoverian swords due to the horse emblem.
