there happened to be a 1796 HC sabre on auction yesterday, in excellent condition listed at 80-100 as a 'sharpe sword'. i bid for it online hoping no one else knew what it was, i dropped out early tho and it went for close to a grand. been watching it online for about a week, biuting my tongue while i posted here in this thread.
just for interest, now that the auction is over, richard sharpe, as most of you may know already, is a fictional napoleonic rifle officer set in wellington's army. he carries a 1796 HC sword, hence the 'sharpe sword' in the terse auction description. too many collector sharks swimming out there tho.
the other officers frequently refer to it as a ''butcher's blade'' unsuitable for a gentleman (sharpe was an infantry sergeant raised to lieutenant, made colonel by the time of waterloo, a 'maverick' from the ranks and considered by many other commissioned officers - who had 'purchased' their commissions - as not a proper officer.). episodes are available on dvd or youtube, well worth watching the series which covers the penninsular war, india, and waterloo. they tend to be quite accurate with uniforms and equipment, weapons from both sides.