Posted 14 years ago
aabigdogdad1
(5 items)
Engraved French Bayonet Dated 1879 engraving says, more d'ormes de st etienne janvier 1879 When translated means Manufacture of Arms in St Etienne January 1879. I would appreiciate if someone can tell me what this might be worth.
You have a French model 1874 bayonet for the Gras rifle. They are not particularly rare and pop up on e-bay frequently. I suggest you search e-Bay for “Gras bayonet” (I just got 43 results) and see how the auctions go to determine worth.
I think the inscription may be “Mre d’armes de St Etienne. The script M would have a looping tail that looks like an o, and the a in d’armes can look like an o. Mre is an abbreviation for manufacture, so the translation is “Manufacture of arms of Saint-Etienne.” Here’s a web site with some inscriptions for a different type of French bayonet, but check out the one near the bottom under the third republic. The Third republic was the era your bayonet dates from.
http://www.old-smithy.info/bayonets/1866_chassepot.htm
I should have said near the bottom of the close ups of inscriptions. The page itself is way longer
Thank you for that link it really shead some light on the inscription, now I have learned a little French at the same time.