A SAMURAI sword dating back to 1541 was sold for �5,300 at an auction at Horners in Acle, near Yarmouth.The sale of the weapon, forged by Japanese swordsmith Sukeshda, attracted online bids from around the world, but was finally sold to a local buyer.
A SAMURAI sword dating back to 1541 was sold for �5,300 at an auction at Horners in Acle, near Yarmouth.
The sale of the weapon, forged by Japanese swordsmith Sukeshda, attracted online bids from around the world, but was finally sold to a local buyer.
Sellers Richard and June McCarthy, of Attleborough, were said to be “flabbergasted” by the price reached for the sword, which had been valued at between �1,000 and �2,000.
Auctioneer Henry Horner-Glister said: “The sword had somehow found its way into a junk shop and was bought for Mr and Mrs McCarthy as a wedding present in 1954. They have kept it ever since.”
At the same auction on Saturday, an early work of eminent artist Frederick Gore, which had been valued at between �4,000 and �5,000, failed to reach its reserve price. The painting had been unearthed, covered in varnish, in a charity shop.
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