Hello Chris,
in fact the father never used the beehive as his marking. The son Ferdinand Hoppe (who took over the business) got it in 1847 by marriage to a Julia Köller, I suppose as part of the dowry. Since then the marking was used by S. Hoppe and Son(s).
And regarding the epee itself: I think it was personal fashion to wear his own weapon rather then a regimentally issued one. I'm not sure (I collect fencing and dueling weapons, so the military is not my area) but I think that an officer wanted to show his wealth when carrying a personal weapon belonging to him. And of course he could take it home as a souvenir of his time in the military....
So far for today
All the best
William
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