Vintage Leech Knife Eagle Head?

[Bassmaster96]

Picked this up today at an auction. Anyone got any info on it?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Diving for Pleasure and Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[SDIceMan]

I’ll venture a guess and say its a confederate Bowie knife, based on the Thomas Leech & Co. maker’s mark.

Thomas Leech was a cotton broker in Memphis TN prior to the Civil War. With the advent of hostilities, Leech began the sale of military cutlery, brass castings, Cavalry sabers, infantry and artillery swords and Bowie knives under the firm name of Thomas Leech & Company. Leech expanded his offering of military related products with the addition of Charles H. Rigdon to the firm, at which time the firm name was changed to Memphis Novelty Works.

I’d be thrilled to see that knife cross the auction block in my sleepy town. Congrats on a great find.

 

[Treasureman25]

How long is the blade on that beast?

 

[releventchair]

Old South Military Antiques, LLC Catalog

 

[Bassmaster96]

Thanks for the comments guys. Blade is 6 3/4 inches, knife itself is 12 inches long from tip to top of eagle's head.

Any idea of a value on it?

 

[bdsawyer]

That eagle worries me to be honest

 

[Bassmaster96]

That eagle worries me to be honest

Why?

 

[gunsil]

Modern fantasy item, or a fake, whichever one likes to call these. It is not old, just made to look that way. Assembled from incongruous parts. That is not a real Leech stamp, it was made with individual stamps the real ones have all letters in one stamp. I hope you didn't pay much, it isn't a pretty sight to a knife collector and holds no historical value at all. NEVER buy a supposed antique knife where the maker's mark is stamped in with individual letter stamps. By the way, I am a life member of the Northeast Cutlery Collectors Association and have been studying and collecting antique knives for over fifty years.

 

[Bassmaster96]

I didn't pay much for it, so I'm not really worried about it, but I think that you would have a different opinion if you held it in your hand. These pics definitely make it look like a fake, I realized that this morning after I viewed the thread again. It has a much different, more authentic look in your hand, but there are things about it, like you say, that make it suspect.

What time period are you referring to when you say modern?

 

[Bassmaster96]

Modern fantasy item, or a fake, whichever one likes to call these. It is not old, just made to look that way. Assembled from incongruous parts. That is not a real Leech stamp, it was made with individual stamps the real ones have all letters in one stamp. I hope you didn't pay much, it isn't a pretty sight to a knife collector and holds no historical value at all. NEVER buy a supposed antique knife where the maker's mark is stamped in with individual letter stamps. By the way, I am a life member of the Northeast Cutlery Collectors Association and have been studying and collecting antique knives for over fifty years.

Also, what does the lettering on the handle supposed to mean? It says C9A or something to that effect.

 

[SDIceMan]

Also, what does the lettering on the handle supposed to mean? It says C9A or something to that effect.

I took that to be “CSA”, for Confederate States of America.

 

[Bassmaster96]

Yeah, that would make sense

 

[gunsil]

I didn't pay much for it, so I'm not really worried about it, but I think that you would have a different opinion if you held it in your hand. These pics definitely make it look like a fake, I realized that this morning after I viewed the thread again. It has a much different, more authentic look in your hand, but there are things about it, like you say, that make it suspect.

What time period are you referring to when you say modern?

I'm sorry, it is not just suspect, it is a really poor attempt to fake a Confederate knife. No doubt about it. Probably made in the last 20 years or less. There are many, many more fake Confederate knives for sale than real ones, many are much better looking than that one but still fake. Again, NEVER buy any antique knife which has the maker's name stamped in with individual letter stamps, none are real, ALL companies had quality maker's name stamps since well before the American Revolution. STAY away from buying any knives with Confederate association unless you really know your stuff. Even a novice collector who at least has studied them in books would spot the OP knife as bad, but there are a lot more sophisticated fakes out there.

 

[Bassmaster96]

I appreciate you weighing in. I definitely disagree with you about the knife being made in the last 20 years. Partially because of the estate that it was included in. I could see it being an older fake, but not one that recent.

Honestly, I didn't even think anything about it being civil war related when I bought it. It just went cheap and looked cool, so I bought it.