Most examples that I have seen of this pattern sword DO NOT exhibit the CHICKEN & football on their pommel OR the embellished cross-guard

Germany has an eagle, the UK has a lion & Spain has a bull

Why does France have a rooster?

The origin of this emblem dates back to Ancient history

At that time, Romans were laughing at Gauls because of a linguistic coincidence – in Latin, the word gallus means Gaul… but also rooster!

With time, the French kings adopted the rooster as a symbol of courage & bravery

During the Revolution, the rooster became the symbol of people & of the State, it was engraved on their coins

The 1816 artillery short sword was a sidearm issued to the French foot artillery.

Heavily influenced by the prevailing Neoclassical style of the day

This sword was based on ancient sculptural depictions of the Roman gladius, the standard sword of the Roman legionaries.

The short sword would not have been a practical weapon for combat without a shield, but served as a fascine knife or a machete to clear fields for the guns.

It also served other practical uses, the French soldiers calling it a Coupe-Chou ("cabbage cutter") as they had to SCAVENGE for their food back in those days

The model was reissued in 1831 with minor changes

Most visibly, the newer model had a ringed grip rather than the fish-scale pattern seen on the earlier model

It was in service until about 1870 when it became obsolete when French soldiers were issued the Gras Rifle & BAYONET

It also provided the inspiration for the American Model 1832 Foot Artillery Sword

Although the American model retained the fish-scale grip of the 1816 model, and had a U.S. Eagle on either side of its pommel

The UNCLEANED 480 mm triple-fullered blade has NO bends, No serious rust, it is stained overall (would easily CLEAN UP if desired?) 2 Chips

NO cracks NO serious rust NO deep pitting No maker marks NO dates NO issue or serial numbers

The LOVELY Brass handle is ROCK SOLID on blade with zero movement