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Here is the sentence I came across the word 「でがす」.

とりあえず　これはアッシからのおみやげでがす。 受け取っておくんなせえ。

I'm not sure if it is an archaic form of the copula「です」. Is there any nuance between them?

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It is certainly a form of です, but it is a dialect rather than an archaism. According to this, using でがす is seen in Kanto region and up, but sporadically.

Apart from real dialect, でがす is used to indicate unrefined character, which may be the case with the sentence in the question. A typical character is an untidy guy, maybe with beard, who is a 子分 type -- I'm not sure of what should be an appropriate translation for 子分, maybe a henchman?. See also this.

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  • I'm curious, do you have any info about the derivation of でがす? Is it perhaps a very abbreviated form of でございます?
    – Eiríkr Útlendi
    Jan 6, 2022 at 22:49
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    Not really, but including the first link, でがす is a rather polite form (仙台弁; also 広島弁). The Wikipedia article for 盛岡弁 suggests your guess is correct: でございます→でござんす→でがす.
    – sundowner
    Jan 7, 2022 at 0:47

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