How much is a world war 2 Japanese parade sword worth?

Answer 1

Several thousand dollars. An ordinary commercial second world war katana of contemporary manufacture has very little value. However what happened during the war was certain prized blades that had belonged to high born Japanese families for generations were disassembled and the precious mounts, tsuba etc. were simply put away. Ordinary military mounts were used on blades that sometimes dated back to the 13th century. If you have a blade like that by one of the esteemed sword smiths, it could be worth huge amounts of money. The Japanese are anxious to recover the many blades that were lost at the time of the Japanese surrender.

To find out whether or not you have a precious blade, knock out the tapered banboo pegs that hold the grip in position and take it off exposing the tang, the part od the blade that is normally hidden within the hilt. If there is a signature in Japanese characters etched into the tang, you may have something of worth though not necessarily a valuable heirloom.

Sometimes the signature is filled with gold, another indication that the smith was a highly regarded artist. Also hold the blade at eye level, looking form hilt to tip. There should be a wavy line clearly visible stretching along the blade. This is, I believe, called the yakiba is the tempering applied to the blade by the smith. Each smith ahad his own unique design fo yakiba. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

50 to 2000 dollars if it has stamped work.