Tiffany & Co. Sword
After the battle of the Iron-Clads the state of New York celebrated their hero graciously with the commissioning of a custom made 37" gold and silver inlaid sword from Tiffany & Co the handle was emblazened with the Roman God of the sea, Neptune. The sword included a gold plated sheath and gold embroidered belt very ornately made at the cost of $550. Worden then continued to be renowned when he served as Superintendant of the Naval Academy.
15 years after Worden's death his family donated the sword to the Naval Academy in 1912 where it rested until 1931 when suddenly it was stolen the Naval investigation yielded no leads.
The sword disappeared for over six decades not appearing until 1998 when the FBI began an investigation into several dealers of the PBS show Antiques Roadshow. By 2002 three men were in jail for $1 million in memorabilia fraud. The FBI contiuned to delve further into all the records of the appraisers searching for more stolen items. The sword had been bought by an appraiser and then resold to a collector, once the FBI verified the sword was stolen they confiscated the sword returning it back to the Naval Academy.
Read more about this topic: John Lorimer Worden
Famous quotes containing the word sword:
“She sings of a sword so white,
so luminous, that its own light
alone must slay;
she sings of a sword, a sword, a sword,
and I creep away.”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)