Thanks for telling me what the cartouches mean. I've seen examples of other shashkas before with these markings before and knew that the "KKB" was related to the Kuban Cossacks. The other examples I've seen didn't seem to mention the "ЗОФ" cartouche so I never knew the significance of it. Do you know what the two "A" markings mean? If I had to guess I would assume they were some type of military acceptance mark or proof stamp. Do you think it would be worth having this piece restored? Normally my stance on the pieces in my collection is "leave them as they lie (unless absolutely necessary)". For some reason I feel like this sword should be returned to it's former glory, even though it's just a simple military piece.
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