A sabre, a smallsword, a knife with a history: in Germany not every piece is a firearm, and not every piece is free to keep. The weapons authority and the weapons law say what may lie with you. This text does not replace that. In the overview Security for collectors you secure what you are allowed to own, against rust, knocks, and being carried off.

What a price can be

The Marengo sabre realized 4.8 million euros at Osenat in 2007 and, as a Monument historique, may not leave France. The six-piece garniture by Boutet is a different lot. Your sabre is neither of the two, unless the papers say so. The papers are the difference.

What time does to it

Damp rusts the blade, a leather scabbard grows mold, a loose hilt wrap comes undone. You store it dry, the blade placed so that nobody walks into it in the hallway. Very valuable pieces sit locked away, not over the sofa as decor, if you want the price replaced.

The folder

Type, length, provenance, proof, photo of blade and hilt. The legal classification as a sentence in your records, after you have clarified it. The guide to the gun cabinet applies once the piece is a firearm or the authority requires a cabinet.