[Andrew]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Hi Andrew,
I think thats where the initial heading for this thread came from, with the obvious association of the familiar Ottoman symbols. I think this marking is likely from the Italian maker, at least as noted in Boccia & Coelho (op.cit.) it is shown that the crescent did appear on Italian blades, in this case from Venice. Still looking for one that incorporates the star. The complexities of all these markings probably derive from workmans guilds, but later became associated with talismanic symbolism in varying degree.
All the best,
Jim

Doh! That's what I get for posting without looking.