Tip of the Bayonet: SABC to meet at Baltimore show

The national meeting of the Society of American Bayonet Collectors (SABC) will take place March 15-17, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, North Baltimore, Md. It will be held in conjunction with the Maryland Arms Collectors’ famous Baltimore Antique Arms Show 2013 at Timonium Fairgrounds.

The meeting will feature a hospitality suite Friday evening March 15, in which members and prospective members get acquainted, and share stories or information about bayonets and related accoutrements. The hospitality suite is also the forum for a silent auction. On Saturday evening, the SABC Annual Banquet begins at 7 P.M. followed by the eventful “Show and Tell” session featuring well-known authors and experts in the field of arms collecting.

This year, a new book by SABC members David Noe and Joseph Serbaroli will be launched at the show. Published by Andrew Mowbray Inc, European Bayonets of the American Civil War promises to be the definitive volume on the subject of Civil War imports.

The field of bayonet collecting is expanding among students of military history. Collectors young and old still have an opportunity to develop a collection of historic treasures at modest prices, compared to muskets and rifles that sell for many times the price of their companion bayonets.

The late Robert M. Reilly, noted historian and author of numerous publications on early martial arms, founded the Society in 1987. It is dedicated to the research and preservation of bayonets manufactured or used in America from the 17th Century to the present. The SABC counts among its members many of today’s foremost arms experts, authors and museums. Membership offers access to trustworthy identification and appraisal of bayonets, as well as an opportunity to learn about this growing area of collecting which includes all types of bayonets, their histories, manufacturers, markings, scabbards, and accompanying muskets or rifles.

For membership information, visit the website at www.BayonetCollectors.org or contact Joe Serbaroli at 914-332-7329. The membership fee is $40 annually and among other benefits includes 4 issues of the scholarly, well-illustrated SABC Journal now in its 25th year of publication.