Harry S. Truman
33rd President of the United States, 1945-1953
On March 24, 1978, two burglars broke into the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri, smashed the glass display cases holding swords and daggers and escaped with the items. The following are descriptions and photographs of the stolen artifacts:
Dagger, Scabbard, and Belt
The dagger was given to President Truman from Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Saud. The dagger has a gold hilt, steel blade, and is decorated with nine diamonds on its grip. The scabbard is gold decorated with four diamonds. The belt has a gold buckle and woven gold thread.
Presentation Sword
The sword was given to President Truman from Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Saud. It is 38" long, has gold grips, and a gold chain connecting the hand guard with the pommel grip and is also decorated with four diamonds. The hand guard also has a diamond. The scabbard is gold and black leather decorated with 15 diamonds. (The gold rope and tassels shown in the photo were not stolen.)
Sword and Scabbard
The sword was given to President Truman from Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Saud. The sword is just under 38" long and has a curved steel blade with ivory grips and a gold decoration chain leading from the hand guard to the pommel. It has multiple diamonds and rubies throughout both the grips and the scabbard.
Sword and Scabbard
Sword and scabbard: The sword was a given to President Truman by the Shah of Iran. The primary materials are silver and steel.
Dagger and Scabbard
The dagger was given to President Truman from Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Saud. It has a gold hilt with four diamonds of .5 carats each in the pommel, surrounding a 2.5 carat emerald. The lower grip has 15 small diamonds surrounding an oval 3 carat ruby. The scabbard is gold with four rubies at the throat and an 8.5 carat emerald over a 3 carat ruby surrounded by 12 small diamonds. At the tip is a 3 carat ruby surrounded by 12 small diamonds.
