A word of caution for anyone who thinks that buying a recently made sword may be an investment. In the world of arms collecting these swords have little or no value because they lack historical context. A sword made during the age of the sword (which ended roughly at the time of WWI) is imbued with a romance totally lacking in even the finest crafted modern sword. Sure, given time the modern sword may increase in value, but it is more likely to depreciate in real terms when you factor in inflation.

If you are planning on spending $8,000 on a sword, put your money into a "real" sword (or several real swords) that will always have intrinsic historical value.