WWI German Captured and Altered French Chassepot M 1866 Bayonet War Relic

Description

German captured M 1866 Chassepot rifle bayonet and altered to fit the German M 1871 and M 1871/84 rifle.
Serial number
is not visible but could easily be cleaned
on the cross guard. Very good long bright fullered yatagan blade
. Most of these bayonets are blade spine marked as
M're
Imp'ale de St. Etienne - 7 'bre 1868
.
(= Imperial factory at Saint Etienne, September. 1868.)
Very good modified brass grip with external spring with pitting. Grip is cut in one step 2.5 mm deep and 35 mm from the
cross guard.
Very good German altered French M 1866. Dated 1868, so this bayonet must have been used and captured after the French-German war 1870-1871 and altered in 1873.
Extremely rare alteration of a French M 1866 chassepot bayonet, only mentioned in Roy William's book;
The collectors book of German bayonets. Part 2
. item
726
(see picture)