Greg Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Well it only took me 15 years, but my pre-WWII Argentine bayonet collection is complete with a final recent purchase of a M1891 Brass grip matchign serial number and unground crest that took 10 years to track down! Pre-WWII Argentine bayonets come in 4 patterns: M1891 Brass Grip (original contract only 40,000 made) M1891 Aluminum Grip (upgaded contract to reduce weight of the handle) M1909 Wood Grip M1891/31 Engineer The M1891/31 is a rare bayonet... sells for several hundred pounds or dollars these days and is exceptionally well made, though very odd converted Remington bayonet. The other bayonets you can easily pick up for usually under $100 USD.. However there is a catch. First the bayonets of all have serial numbers that should match the numbers on the scabbards. Many are mis-matched and it is hard to find matching sets anymore. The final trick is that Argentine bayonets have the crest of Argentina on the riccasso. This is ground off after decommission and surplus sale. It is incredibly difficult to find Argentine bayonets without the crest ground, they were either smuggled out, sold by some foolish soldier, or were sold off before the laws came into effect in the 1950s for the crest to be removed (this is also when Argentina released most bayonets as they switched to the FN FAL rifle). I'm happy to say I have a complete set of all 4 now with all matching serial numbers and unground crests! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leon21 Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Well done Greg, now that's what I call dedication. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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