[urbanspaceman]

A fine blade is a valuable commodity, it is a product of those esoteric practices not common throughout a lot of history.
Fashioning a hilt was rarely fraught with difficulty, and consequently could be discarded and replaced at the whim of fashion and circumstance - as Jim said. This speaks volumes about trends in history.
I have two extremely fine rapier blades that have been converted to court-swords with very fancy hilts; for me, they are nearly as precious as my 1590s swept hilt, although nowhere-near as valuable on the commercial market.
It is all too easy to be caught up in the pedantic attitudes of some collectors.
The Arms and Armour Society presented a lecture this month on 'collectors and collecting' that was both poignant, amusing and precautionary, in that: "de gustibus non est disbutandum".
You should see the faces of coin collectors when they discover I clean my antique coins!
Fine Samurai swords are revered, and their condition is sacrosanct; why should the West be any different?
For me, a luxurious sword should reflect as much as possible of the quality and craftsmanship displayed when new. Munition's-grade battlefield swords are a different issue altogether though and are usually more inspiring when showing the patina of age and activity.
OK, I'm off my soap-box now.
ps
All this aside, your monster hilt looks amazing, regardless of its provenance.