This artifact is a Boarding Cutlass Sword found on a shipwreck in the Strait of Malacca.  This stretch of water spans 580 miles between the Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra, Indonesia.  The shipwreck is unknown however the style of the sword along with the other contents of the shipwreck date this artifact to 1780-1850.  The shipwreck is believed to be a Dutch East India Company ship that ran aground on an unseen reef. 

This sword is made of iron and corrosion is seen on all sides.  The artifact weighs 3lbs. and 6.4 ounces and measures 23.03 inches in length with a blade width of 2.36 inches.  The corrosion consists of sand, shells, and barnacles that have formed on the outside of the artifact.  Ironically, it is very rare to find shipwreck swords with this level of encrustation, which is largely due to local bacteria at the wreck site.  Upon inspection of the artifact, it is not encouraged to remove or attempt the remove the encrustation from the sword.  The iron could be too structurally weak to maintain its shape and thus the encrustation actually makes this artifact stronger. 

This artifact comes with a Certificate of Authenticity from Global Xploration.