Xena Swords

I've received a number of emails recently about Xena Swords, particularly the detailing around the spot where the hilt and crossbar meet. At left is a photo of 3 Xena Swords (all purchased during the online It's A Wrap! auctions) -- the one on the far left is a resin sword, and the other two are metal retractible special effects swords. If you look at the juncture where the hilt and the crossbar meet you'll see a flat rectangular area.

Barbie Arms has reported in the most recent Xena Prop House Newsletter (Vol. 12) that these were made in later X:WP seasons as the master sword mold had been reworked. The earlier Xena Swords have scrollwork in this area, an extension of the scrollwork that is on the flat of the sword, around the paua shell (on both sides).


In 2nd photo, you'll see another grouping of 3 Xena Swords, all are metal. The swords on the far left has the scrollwork mentioned, and the other two, do not. The unfinished sword I obtained at the online It's A Wrap! Xena/Herc auction and the sword on the right is the Xena Sword I bought at the 1999 Xena Convention in Santa Monica.

What is the point of this? Some collectors want to narrow down the timeframe when their Xena Sword was made (earlier vs. later seasons). I've seen some collectors point to a specific screen-captured image and say "that's my prop" without understanding that so many copies were made. And there is a difference between trying to pin down informatin on a prop for documentation purposes and trying to hype a prop in order to get a higher price. I've seen both things happen and fortunately the latter is restricted to a few speculating collectors who treat X:WP props and costumes as investment products (which is silly in my opinion).

Another point is to try to document all of the authentic props so that fakes can be more easily spotted. For the purposes of collecting authentic X:WP props that were used in making the show means that the Xena Swords sold by Creation, even though they were made by the "propmasters" in NZ, are all REPRODUCTIONS, and therefore, technically fakes. Todd Coyle's Xena Swords, those made before he became authorized and the ones he is currently making are also fakes. Be aware that there are many, many more metal Xena Swords that fall into these two categories than there are authentic Xena Swords. Try to get as much information and documentation on a Xena Sword as you can BEFORE you buy the item.