The Sword Antiques is in its 15th Year of operation and evolving rapidly as the collectibles and antique furniture market undergoes a massive change. You have probably noted the decline in venues serving collectors as the Baby Boom Generation eases off buying for already complete collections. Many of their offspring have already assured their folks that their “dust collectors” are headed for the yard sale or the dump on a parent’s demise. Prices have plummeted on thousands of items as demand for them decreases and now only the most coveted or valuable collectibles continue in demand.

We have shifted our focus into fields where we feel demand will continue and values increase. Young men of any age love toys, whether guns, bayonets, knives or other sharp objects dangerous to their wellbeing. Many felt the arrival of the gun registry in Canada would destroy gun collecting. Not only did this not occur, but prices on legal hunting weapons, both modern and antique, continued to increase. The end of the registry has had no effect on this trend. At The Sword we specialize in stocking antique muskets, rifles , shotguns and pistols that require no government licensing of any kind because of their age or because their ammunition is no longer available. We also stock reproductions which can be fired but fit in the same category as our antiques. Also available are replicas which resemble firearms but are incapable of being used as such.

For the ladies we offer an extensive collection of costume jewelry and a somewhat smaller array of jewelry in silver, gold and precious and semiprecious stones. We also have a large collection of Blue Mountain pottery including many of the rarer and beautifully done later pieces of the lamented Collingwood, Ontario potters. But we’re not just pistols and bling. There are other treasures in ceramics, crystal and art glass and always anything unusual we come across.

The Sword Antiques is located at 20581 Loyalist Parkway ( Highway 33) in Prince Edward County, Ontario’s newest vineyard country. The parkway runs from Highway 2 through Prince Edward County to a ferry across the Hayward Long Reach and on to Kingston, Ont. Our business began as a gas station and lunch room we converted to a licensed dining lounge. In 17 of the next 20 years we were recognized by “Where to Eat in Canada” as one of the country’s best restaurants. When we had enough of seasonal restaurant life, my wife opened an accounting and tax office while I went into banquet catering and then antiques. With my unerring capacity I picked the time for the change when the collectibles and antiques trade began its plunge. However, there’s a lot to be said for being an impoverished antique dealer with a love of history having a wife with a successful business.