The sigil thing is definitively a bikeshed. For one thing besides Python I don't don't know why you consider that JS, Java or C# don't use many sigils, these languages just happen not to have C-style pointers so they don't need that particular bit of syntax.
More generally using C-style syntax means that C and C++ coders will be at home, while people from other languages will have to familiarize themselves with the concept anyway, sigil or not.
Beyond that, I don't think I've seen any serious study on the acceptable level of sigils to maximize productivity and readability in source code, as far as I can tell it's really just a matter of opinion. Personally I'd take C syntax over Python every day of the month, and I've written quite a bit of Python. My only sigil-related problem with C is that '->' should really just be '.' IMO.