Rare early 19th century naval boarding ax stamped on 5″ blade “U.S., NYW, JT”. The “NYW” denotes manufacture at the Navy Yard Washington. “JT” stands for the inspector, Captain Joseph Tarbell (1780-1815), who inspected naval weapons at the Navy Yard during the War of 1812. Hasp is almost 2′ long with an old pinned contemporary repair with correct bulbous end. Identical specimen is noted on pg 3 in Col. Robert Rankin’s text Small Arms of the Sea Services, 1972 and notes that these are quite rare. CONDITION: Good to very good overall. Iron is dark and pitted overall, but markings are all discernible though inspector “JT” is weak. Haft is still sturdy though repaired below languettes with several iron pins, glue and putty. 51908-1 (4,000-6,000)