 Lobanov @-@ Rostovsky ultimately sold Szczerbiec to Prince Anatole Demidov who kept it together with the rest of the Demidov collection in his Villa San Donato near Florence . In 1870 , the sword was bought for 20 @,@ 000 French francs by Alexander Basilevsky , Russian ambassador to France and great art collector . In 1878 , he displayed Szczerbiec at the World 's Fair in Paris . By that time , the scabbard had been lost and the sword itself was presented as of Teutonic origin . It was seen by several Polish visitors who speculated whether it could be the Polish coronation sword . In 1884 , the entire Basilevsky collection was purchased by Emperor Alexander III of Russia for the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg . Both Polish and other experts at the time expressed doubts as to the authenticity of Szczerbiec held in Russia 's largest museum ( see Historical replicas below ) . An international museum congress held in Saint Petersburg in 1913 pronounced the sword a 17th @-@ century replica . 
