Napoleon’s sword
On the battlefield Napoleon carried a pistol and a sword. He owned a large collection of arms and artillery. His weapons were one of a kind and included the best materials. In the summer of 2007, a gold-encrusted sword that once belonged to Napoleon was auctioned off in France for more than $6.4 million dollars. The sword was used by Napoleon in battle. In the early 1800s, Napoleon presented the weapon to his brother as a wedding gift. The sword was passed down from generation to generation, never leaving the Bonaparte family. In 1978, the sword was declared a national treasure in France and the winner of the auction was not identified.
Honjo Masamune
The most famous of all Masamune swords is named Honjo Masamune. The Honjo Masamune is so important because it represented the Shogunate during the Edo period of Japan. The sword was passed down from one Shogun to another for generations. In 1939 the weapon was named a national treasure in Japan, but remained in the Kii branch of the Tokugawa family. The last known owner of Honjo Masamune was Tokugawa Iemasa. Apparently Tokugawa Iemasa gave the weapon and 14 other swords to a police station in Mejiro, Japan, in December of 1945.
Shortly thereafter in January 1946, the Mejiro police gave the swords to Sgt. Coldy Bimore (U.S. 7th Cavalry). Since that time, the Honjo Masamune has gone missing and the whereabouts of the sword remains a mystery. Honjo Masamune is one of the most important historical artifacts to disappear at the end of World War II.
Joyeuse
Joyeuse is the name of Charlemagne’s personal sword. Today, there are two swords attributed to Joyeuse. One is a saber that is kept in the Weltliche Schatzkammer in Vienna, while the other is housed at the Louvre in France. The blade on display at the Louvre claims to be partially built from Charlemagne’s original sword. The sword is made of parts from different centuries, so it can be hard to positively identify the weapon as Joyeuse. The hilt of the sword indicates a manufactory date around the time of Charlemagne. The heavily sculpted gold pommel is made in two halves and the long gold grip was once decorated with diamonds.