Hurricane Sandy and an 1909 Argentine Bayonet

[Aragorn243]

I spotted a bargain priced 1909 Argentine Bayonet on ebay yesterday. Pretty early in the day as I came home early so I wouldn't get cut off from home by downed trees or wires as Sandy was approaching rapidly.

My thoughts were I better put a bid in on this before I lose power due to the storm. But the day went on, the winds didn't get all that high and things are going smoothly. I checked in periodically and no one was bidding on this. The evening wore on and I was watching a movie with the family and checking ebay periodically.

The lights flickered three times, never went out, just that little flicker you can just sense. But it was almost time. The eye wall of the hurricane coincided with the end time of the auction.

5 minutes left, still trying to watch the movie, the adrenaline is starting to flow. 1 minute left, I give up on the movie. Confirm I'm still signed in. Open the bid window. 15 seconds, 14, 13, 12, my finger on the enter key, 11, 10, ready to push at 6, 9 - BRIGHT FLASH AND EVERYTHING GOES BLACK AND SILENT.

I am not kidding.

10:30 at night, I had just drank a can of Mountain Dew, I was on an extreme auction high and I didn't even get to bid, it's pitch black and there's nothing to do but go to bed and lie there, wide awake, thinking if only I'd pushed the enter key at 10.

There is an excellent ending to this story however. I got up in the morning, power restored. I checked the auction and there were no bidders. I contacted the seller, explained what happened and he put it up on a buy it now auction, told me when and what the auction number was. He put it in the mail by 8:30 this morning. Awesome guy.

It isn't perfect, some surface rust on the handle but the blade is shiny in cosmoline, the numbers match and it has a unmolested crest, something I've been after for a couple of years.

Photos when it arrives.

Information

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[gew8805]

Congratulations, there are a lot of good and honest sellers on eBay and other online auctions, too often a few bad apples reflect badly on the good guys, glad you found a gentleman to deal with.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

I used to think you were lucky. I now have concluded you are living right. Great story. Glad you survived Sandy ok. Prayers for those who did not.

[Aragorn243]

It came already.

Verdict, the surface rust came right off but the blade has been sharpened. A bit disappointing but I'll try to dress it up some. Resembles what the Japanese do to their bayonets. Crest and numbers and markings are all nice and clear.

I'll get some photos up when I get a chance but extremely busy for the next few days.

[porterkids]

What wa the auction number?

[Aragorn243]

Sorry it took so long. Here are the pics:

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

Beauty!

[Aragorn243]

I like it. The blade dressed up pretty well. An Argentine bayonet was one of the first "expensive" bayonets I purchased when I started collecting these a couple of years ago. It wasn't expensive as far as bayonets go but it sure seemed like it to me at the time. It is similar to this one with an aluminum handle. Matching numbers but a ground crest.

[scbair]

I have a pair of bayonets & scabbards almost identical to that one; only difference I can see is the handle slabs are aluminum. Unfortunately, the blade & scabbard numbers don't match. They were once issued to a local police dept that had shroud/lug attachments for its 12 gauge riot guns (I had one of those, too, but have misplaced it ...). I can only imagine the bad press that would result from a line of riot gear-clad officers fixing and unsheathing those blades, racking the actions of the Ithaca M37s, and advancing on some "poor rioters" these days.

Very impressive blade on that bayonet!