[stephen wood]

...thank you all very much for your interest and comments.

I have just realized that I bid on this sword some months ago when it was part of a lot with a figure-of-eight Cutlass - listed as "Two old swords, one reproduction" (or words to that effect). I noticed the unusual marks but bidding started high and I didn't get it. I even thought of trying to contact the buyer as I assumed they were not interested in the Kaskara...

...they weren't, and it turned up, looking slightly cleaner, in another auction.

As far as I can tell the marks appear to be quite equally worn - applied at the same time.

The other two "star" marks below are firstly, acid etched on an old, very flexible European blade, mounted, it would seem, as a Kaskara (Anthony North agreed that it was older than we are used to seeing mounted as such and suggested an Italian, possibly Venetian origin). The other what might be a late 19th/early 20th century commercial mark - I have only seen this mark twice before.