Chinese translation help cutlass length saber

[josh stout]

These are closeups from the cutlass length saber I posted. Please help with translation if possible. I think the characters give a reign mark, but unfortunately they were lacquered over, and are difficult to decipher. I will try and do a rubbing and see if that helps. It looks like the pommel was refit to tighten it up, probably when it was lacquered.