Sword of State of South Carolina

State officials were initially unconcerned at its theft, assuming it would eventually be returned; the Mace of the South Carolina House of Representatives had periodically been stolen over the previous centuries and always recovered.

However, in 1968 – with the sword still missing – state officials publicly requested the culprit return the artifact in time for the tricentennial of South Carolina, agreeing that "no questions" would be asked.

[4] Following its theft, a cavalry saber was borrowed from the Charleston Museum for use by the Senate until 1951 when the Earl of Halifax, learning of the blade's loss, procured a replacement from Wilkinson Sword of London.

[1] The blade is wavy, 42 inches (110 cm) in length and made of what is believed to have been imported steel.

[1][4] The sword has a silver hilt, (8 inches (20 cm)), and was possibly crafted in Charleston, though some believe the craftsmanship too complex to have originated in colonial South Carolina.