Sorry, Iain, I can't help. In my limited experience I've never seen anything like it. The figure looks to be in one piece and seems too big, deep and well struck to be a native mark. One would really have to give the die a strong whack to get the imprint into steel and would have to do it after the fuller was formed and before the blade was hardened, although the blade at the upper end generally would not be hardened as much as on the sharp end. Also, it is apparently unique. All this being said, I still don't have a clue and can't hazard a guess.
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