Antique blade... roman, celtic, iliria?

[TVV]

Originally Posted by ariel

Not my area at all, but ... It looks too good and intact for a 7th century iron sword. I would expect more rust, less even edges and no what I think are clearly visible and demarkated areas looking like grindstone marks.
Overall, this looks like a oversize beer bottle opener

I completely agree: the pitting is comparable to that of a poorlly maintained late 19th century bayonet or sword, for example. And the brass on ancient pieces tends to be well patinated and green in appearance, while the alloy on this one exhibits no patination whatsoever. Unfortunately recently while browsing eBay I cannot help but notice the enormous amount of "ancient" weapons: mahairas, "Byzantine", "Celtic" and "Roman" daggers and swords, all coming from a few sellers who appear to have endless supplies of them and all with the vague "found in the Balkans" description. Determining the authenticity of ancient artefacts is a very hard task, and even museum curators get fooled often. Miyamoto, did you obtain this piece from a treaure hunter/archeologist near the spot of its supposed origin, or did you acquire it second- ot third-hand through the internet? While the answer to this question will not prove anything, it may point you to the right direction.