Hello,
Nice sword. I particularly like these hangers for some reason. The naming of the patterns date from paintings of the period and the 1742 is the type you have with the 'heart' shaped guard and single knuckle bow. The 1751 is the same style but with 2 side bars. The dates don't really mean anything as they are not official patterns as no official British patterns were introduced until c1786. The style of the "1742" was certainly in use a lot earlier in the century and continued to be made into the early 19th century.
By far the largest numbers were issued to the Militia regiments and they are commonly found with militia regimental markings.
I think there is considerable debate about these and their use in the Revolutionary war. Both types are often sold by dealers as being "used in the revolution" however as far as I know there is no evidence of large scale use. Other styles are more often found at excavations.
The mark which is commonly referred to as the 'running fox' is of particular interest to me as I am currently carrying our research on it. The example on your sword is a more unusual version. There were many variation used of this mark but most are attributed to the Harvey family. However some do appear of swords sold by other makers.
Nice sword!
Mark.
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