Beautiful sword, Glen! As Dmitry pointed out, it's probably French and with no absolute naval provenance, there's no way of proof. However, In Annis book on sea swords, he does say that hangers (which were very popular with naval personnel) that had nautical motiffs might very well have seen service at sea. Things such as shell guards, sea horses, anchors, Poseidon, ocean waves, etc, that wouldn't normally appeal to a hunter (who would prefer a more decorated piece with wild boar, splay of weapons, hunting dogs, powderhorn decoration, etc, etc. In 'Swords for Sea Sercive', May says that some of these might have also appealed to Marine officers, if not naval personnel. Of course, your sword isn't a hanger, but one never knows where it might have served.
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