Lew,
This is certainly a possibility and I have seen pieces with holes made for hanging the piece on a wall.
However I am curious about the possibility of it being a rivet hole. I am not familiar with VOC blades, so I would like to pose a few questions for those people who have studied them.
How far from the VOC marking is the hilt, usually?
Is it near the hilt or further up the blade? In some swords, like kaskaras, the markings (crescents) are a distance from the handle.
Most others have them near the handle. This is why I am suggesting that the blade and tang could a major part of the blade we see here.
Why are there numbers and a difference in the blade showing a fuller-like depression below the hole?
This could also indicate the numbered part with the "fuller-like depression is part of the original tang, enclosed by a handle, and is now part of the blade.
No big deal either way. I am just curious.
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