This is a Vet bringback, very late war it is in great condition - virtually no wear to the blade or gilt on the fittings, the black lacquer sheath has a few very small light dings + a small amount of chipping on the edge of seams ( you can see the light color of the wood where the chips are- a little polish or dye would hide this small imperfection ) The 24+1/4" blade is stainless steel, has Naval Anchor stamp on tang with painted markings- assembly # or arsenal markings I would think.The finish of the blade looks nice - but examined closely you can see the grinding or sanding marks that were not polished out completely, this and the way the fittings were produced - the fitting at bottom of handle is stamped not cast + the seppia was combined to make the bottom of this fitting, ( see pictures ) shows that this was a very late produced sword, I've had a few of this type but none made in this way. The cloth wrap on handle is in realy nice condition, no wear or fading , good gilt on menuki, has original bambo peg, the tsuba is blackened iron