Thank you as always for the enlightening context Ibrahiim. I'm continuing to look through coat of arms to find a match, but so far no luck other than the "Pecke" one. I've attached a photo of those arms. While the coat itself is similar, the supporters and helmet and crown are all different. I'm inclined to think it's just coincidence. I think if I clean the blade up more I can see more details which may shed more light on matters, but I'm hesitant to remove all the remaining patina for aesthetic reasons.
Also confusing me is that the helmet above the coat of arms. It's pointing straight forward and it has a crown on it. The crest above it is a demi-lion above it carrying a scepter of some sort. I read only kings could use that kind of helmet and crown on their coats. But I've gone through all the English, French and Scottish coats of arms I can find and none of them look remotely similar.
On the other hand I've read that these rules about who could use what kind of helmet or crown were not strictly enforced and some rules were just made up by later historians.
One more question - it looks like the crest and the decoration on the other side were plated in some yellowish metal, I assume copper or bronze. You can see it fairly well in the pictures I posted. Was this a common technique, or does it narrow down the age of the sword? The thistles/vines don't appear to have the same embellishment.
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