Spanish military straight sabre

length: 42"
blade: 35"
blade width: 1" base
grip: 6"
guard: 4 1/2" across x 6" top/bottom

1800's military straight saber with the crossed swords and lances mark of Toledo - this is from the days before "Toledo steel" became synonymous with "junk reproductions". I'm not sure of the exact Make and Model this sword is. I do know that the design of perfectly straight military sabres with T-back reinforced blades and half-basket guards were the very last gasp of weapons for horse-mounted cavalry. Some clever Brit decided that since cavalry was completely useless in modern (1870-ish) warfare, they might as well ditch those pesky over-long lances and charge with straight swords extended to the fore. It's not as if they actually had any chance of ever completing a cavalry charge ever again in the face of infantry armed with heavy machine guns. Even more clever than the clever Brittish supplier who invented these was the American lieutenant-someday-to-be-known-as-General George S. Patton, who stole the idea and claimed it as his own, about two decades before giving up on horses completely and switching over to tanks. If the British and the Americans decided that straight sabres would save the cavalry from obsolescence, that was good enough for every other First and Second World military power of the time.
This blade is marked "Artilleria Fca Nacional", and "12734". Design on the basket is two crossed straight sabres and two crossed lances with pennons. This sword is an absolute terror for stabbing cardboard boxes, I've had hours of fun with it.

sword identified 6/12/01 by Juan Perez:
"The sword in your pic is a Spanish M1907 Cav. Sabre, also known as "Puerto-Seguro" after its designer, a Cav. Captain. ...

Further info 6/13 by Jean Binck:
"The "Puerto Seguro" was not used only on cardboard box ;-), but also saw action during the war against the Arabs rebells of Abd-el-Krim during the 1920s in Marocco (North Africa). It took quite a long time to both French and Spanish troops to win the battle of the Rif, and , if my memory is good, Spain had to face severe loss. "