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Originally Posted by Helleri
I believe the hilt and scabbard work is done in nickle-silver. True silver tends to tarnish with a much wider range of hues (dependent on chemical exposure over time and alloying). Whereas this only seems to have a black tarnish (suggests high nickle content). This also presents in sheen as mild yellow-green (that's your copper and tin displaying a bit).
To be clear Nickle-silver contains no actual silver (usually). It is a white brass that mimics the appearance of silver to some degree. It's actually a superior and very common material worldwide for this sort of highly detailed work.
Question: Does the metal have an acrid/sour/spicy odor?
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Thank you for this info. Yes, I believe it is German silver (is that the same thing?). Funny that you mention the smell...this does NOT have the smell, but the koummya in the one picture of the auction lot does have that sour smell. What does the smell indicate??