Early Pattern French Gras T-Back Bayonet & Scabbard

An early-pattern French Gras Sword Bayonet with brass and wood grip. Both the bayonet and the scabbard are in very good antique condition. There are some light dents in the wood grip and both the bayonet and scabbard show typical field use. The rifle-mounting latch spring is broken, so this is more of a display bayonet than a fully functional one. (See photos.) This one was made in 1879 for France under contract by the famed St. Etienne arsenal and it is marked as such in an elegant script rollmark on the blade’s top flat.  Has a 19-inch blade, with both M and a shield image cartouches stamped at the base of the blade. G98744 stamped on hilt. G0008 stamped on Scabbard.. A nice representative example for any collector of French military rifles.  (EPA-129)