The 10 Most Expensive Antique Weapons Items Ever Sold at Auction

Men have always been considered belligerent, and they showed this quality more actively in the Middle Ages. When technology made it possible to develop more threatening and deadly weapons of mass destruction, medieval wars, in which there was a personalization factor in the duel, ceased to seem so terrible. But the battle was brutal and bloody, and the soldiers had to look the enemy straight in the eye. The weapons of that heroic time became a valuable artifact and even legendary. We offer an overview of the most expensive copies that have survived to our time.

Katana swords are traditional single-edged edged weapons that have been used by Japanese samurai for hundreds of years. The swords were made of the best alloy. 125 of these swords are considered the heritage of Japan and are priceless. In 1992, about 1,100 Japanese swords were auctioned from the collection of Dr. Walter Ames Compton. They were sold for $8 million on the first day. Among the swords in the collection was one dating from the 13th century of the Kamakura era, which sold for $418,000 to an anonymous buyer. Today it is the most expensive katana sword that has ever been bought.

Many artifacts are worth a lot of money, as they belonged to famous historical figures, such as the officer's saber of Admiral Lord Nelson, which was found with the treasure in 2001. Among the items found were papers and documents, awards, jewelry and weapons belonging to Nelson. The treasure was kept for more than 200 years, and was hidden by Nelson's friend, Alexander Davisan. In 2002, the collection was sold at Sotby's auction in London for $ 2 million. The story related to the collection and its discovery appeared in the press in 2004 under the name "Nelson's Purse", which was also in the collection and which, it was believed, was with him at the time of the admiral's death in the Battle of Trafalgar.

The Royal blade was sold at Sotby's auction in 2007. This is a curved European blade with elements of gold inlay and inscriptions. Poppies and lotuses were found among the images, and the sword itself dates back to the 17th century. It belonged to Shah Yahan. This is one of the most outstanding finds of the numerous objects belonging to the Mughal Empire. It was made in the tenth year of Yahan's reign, sometime in 1637-1638. The blade was sold for seven times the amount declared at auction.

The unique hunting knife belonged to Qiannlong, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. On the handle of the knife, made of a rare antelope horn, there was a secret lock that gave access to a cache in which chopsticks and toothpicks were stored. The scabbard was made of rhino horn, and it depicts dragons soaring in the sky above the waves. The knife was made of gold and inlaid with turquoise, coral and lapis lazuli, from which it was concluded that the knife belonged to the emperor. The weapon was sold at Sotby's auction in 2009 for 9,620,000 Hong Kong dollars.

Another sword belonging to a famous historical figure, Odysseus S. Grant. He received it in 1864 from the people of Kentucky, when he led the U.S. Army during the Civil War. The sword is encrusted with 26 diamonds in the shape of Grant's initials. The weapon was sold for $1.6 million in 2007 at a Heritage auction.

The Pearl of the East knife is a luxury weapon designed and manufactured in 1966 by Buster Warenski in his 20s. After some time, he was already considered a world master of cold weapons. For two years he headed the Guild of masters of cold weapons. The knife "Pearl of the East" was created for a Japanese customer. The handle of the knife is encrusted with 153 emeralds weighing 10 carats, 9 diamonds weighing 5 carats, and more than 800 grams of gold were spent on making the blade and handle. It took almost 10 years to make the knife.

This is the second blade from our list, belonging to Shah Yahan. In 2008, it was sold in London for 1,700,000 pounds, which exceeded the stated amount by 5 times. Shah Yahan ruled the Mughals from 1627 to 1657. His elegant dagger was inlaid with golden inscriptions and patterns. It was in the collection of a Belgian admirer of Asian weapons, porcelain and other art objects. The name of the shah, the title, as well as the place and date of manufacture are written on the dagger.

Daggers with two blades and a handle head resembling a human ear are the most significant exhibits of the Nasrid period of North Africa. Such daggers were widely used in Spain in the 15th and 16th centuries, and came to Europe from Italy. The dagger depicts a man with a crossbow hunting a lion and other animals. In 2010, the weapon was sold for an amount six times higher than the stated amount — for 3.7 million pounds.

Everyone knows that Napoleon carried a pistol and a saber on the battlefield. The gold-encrusted saber was with the emperor at the Battle of Marengo in 1800, when he drove the Austrian army out of Italy. The saber was passed down from generation to generation of Bonaparts, and now it is considered the property of the nation and has no right to leave the country. In 2007, in France, one of the descendants of Napoleon Bonaparte's brother, Jerome, sold a saber to another family member. The curved saber, decorated with gold, was made by Nicholas Noel Booth.

The beautiful sword and scabbard were sold twice in 2006 for $5.93 million, and two years later for $7.7 million. This is the second weapon on our list, dating back to the era of the Qianlong Emperor. The S-shaped saber with a jade handle is decorated with floral ornaments and made of steel, gold and copper. On one side of the saber is depicted Bao Teng, the hero of poetic works. The blade itself was made in the imperial palace. A total of 90 such sabers have been manufactured in 47 years.