Harvey Withers (Anglian / British Military Swords)

Harvey Withers, nothing but an obsessive, nasty, cheating sword salesman? Author of "British Military Swords" with his own web site by the same name and on eBay as "Anglian Swords", selling edged weapons from around the world, Harvey J. S. Withers clearly needs to make a buck from swords, which is not a bad thing, but I believe this puts his status of expert in question. Other sword experts and published sword reference book authors such as Robert Wilkinson-Latham and Michel Petard for example, do not sell swords. I believe there is a conflict of interest in Harvey Withers being on the one hand a self-professed sword reference book author, and on the other hand actually selling swords. What makes matters worse is I was ripped off by Harvey Withers (early on in my collecting) plus I have caught Mr. British Military Swords selling reproductions as genuine on eBay; even when I submitted the facts to him, he just let his auctions continue anyway. Withers is, in my sword book, a fraud and a cheat.

Update: Harvey Withers gets it wrong, and wrong, again! 
Wrong again Harvey!
And Again!
And Again!
And Again!

Honest seller? Expert?

Harvey complains about this blog; he now has his own complaint blog! The thing is, I substantiate my gripes with you Mr. Withers. And, I have given you every chance to resolve the issues of your getting sword identifications wrong and selling somewhat dogdy swords at times. Rather than moan and groan and claim I am publishing defamations (falsehoods) about you, put things right. If you want, choose a neutral public / transparent forum and we can discuss the issues!

I actually bought several swords from Harvey Withers when I first started acquiring my collection in 2004; in retrospect this was a bad move. Not only do I feel I got bad value generally, based on paying more for swords coming from someone with such perceived standing (when I sold them on, they sold for a lot less), but I also believe I was cheated by Mr. Withers. You see, amongst the swords I bought from him was an 1828 Pattern Basket hilted Scottish highland officer's broadsword. I did not have the knowledge at the time I received this sword, but 3 years later when I came to sell it on (because I had a better replacement), I noticed the proof slug had been gouged with a screwdriver. When I confronted Harvey with this fact, he never denied it but did not justify it nor offer any appeasement / apology.

Why would this sword have it's copper proof slug gouged and more importantly, why didn't Harvey Withers disclose this? One of the most likely reasons, given the sword in question was not maker marked, was that a well known reproduction of the time gave itself away with a proof slug containing the letter "P" crucially followed by a period / full stop; like this "P.". It seems genuine swords were made with a "P" proof mark letter but only later Indian made reproductions were marked "P." These Indian made repros were exceptionally convincing, but they are not authentic Scottish basket hilts of course. So if you were to sell a reproduction highland broadsword as genuine, what you would need to do to is remove the "P." evidence! Hmmmmmm.

Harvey Withers still claims this sword is genuine but does not address the gouged proof slug or why he did not disclose it, although he clearly remembers the fact. Whether this is a genuine 1828 P or not, you can not escape from the facts that when I sold it on, I disclosed the gouged proof slug, when Mr. Withers sold this sword to me, he did not. Given there are no maker marks on this sword, given the event of reproduction swords, any sword expert will tell you the proof slug against this backcloth suddenly becomes very important indeed. Harvey knew of the repros as he published this in his book "British Military Swords, 1786 - 1912 the regulation patterns", yet he sold this sword in the above condition to a then naive collector. At the very least, the non-disclosure aspect was not a very nice thing to do, was it? But there is more that draws H. J. S. Withers "good" name into question.

What prompted me a few years on into raising the issue of the above basket hilt with Mr. Withers was another sword he was selling on eBay, a Model 1840 US Cavalry Sword stamped simply "GA" to shoe drag of the scabbard and ricasso of the blade. Harvey described this sword as an American Civil War sword, but I don't believe it likely is / was; I think it more likely is a repro. You see, I wondered how this sword was in such good condition (given all the others I had seen) and had so few markings. Although the M 1840 was imported in many cases, these normally would have maker and inspector marks on them; critically on the pommel. Harvey's sword had none of these and yet he was selling the sword, which likely had never been in the USA, as an American Civil War sword. Harvey Withers was quick to apply his vast knowledge to his defense saying that indeed a number of imported swords did not have many or in some cases any markings, but still, these were in the minority it seems and does not bode well when you consider Harvey's sword was in the UK and looked, well, quite new. At the very least you would expect Harvey Withers to concede the sword could be a repro, but Harvey would not do that, oh no. Instead he started hurling insults my way including accusing me of being a weirdo; shame he does not look at his own photo on his own book I say!

Since that time Harvey Withers has listed a number of items on eBay as authentic which I am certain were reproductions, such as a "Russian Shaska" he once tried to sell. In the case of the shaska it had western not Cyrillic letters and badly marked to the sword, plus one too many hanging rings; a well known flaw with most repros. I admit we all can get caught out but when you, or Harvey in this case, are presented with the facts by reference to respected books on the subject, if you have any decency you bite the bullet and remove the item from sale right? Not Harvey Withers though, oh no; he kept on selling a reproduction as authentic even after the facts were put to him.

Even if Harvey Withers sells a genuine authentic sword 100% accurately and fully described, it seems he gets more for it as "an expert" than other sellers might, and yet this perceived extra value of buying from British Military Swords is I say unjustified, and even risky. I bought from Harvey because I thought I would be getting something better, instead I got something worse, even fraudulent. Maybe Harvey Withers is right, maybe the 1828 P he sold me is genuine, but it does not change the fact he did not disclose the gouged proof slug to me nor explain why it was gouged in the first place, huh Mr. Withers?!

Harvey now emails me with threats and insults, claiming I have libeled him yet not explaining how (libel = written falsehoods without public value), plus calling me a sad little man with mental health problems. Perhaps therefore you would be intrigued to know that Harvey has researched my past life and even my future plans to buy houses in various countries. I do not give a toss where Harvey lives, wants to live and what his past is yet I am the one with mental health problems and somehow little? So, if I am so little Harvey, why do such a thorough job of researching me? I say it is you with the screw loose and a stature problem pal!

Harvey keeps on threatening legal action for my words yet I receive nothing from his apparently imaginary lawyer. His threats are strange though as all Harvey Withers has to do is apologize for selling me a fake at worse, a damaged and highly devalued sword at best (recompensing me what I subsequently lost on that sword would also be nice), plus stop selling repro swords as authentic; surely, not too much to ask is it Mr. Withers?