Just realized where I'd seen that serpent mark...it was a guild oriented marking used by armorers in Milan, and seems to have been used in some variation. In some references it is suggested to be a 'makers' mark, however I think that is an assumption rather than to a recorded maker.
It seems that when a date is applied to a sword blade openly, without other lettering, marks etc. that perhaps it is a commemorative, possibly placed to recall an important event date to the owner (this 1576 date seems scratched in by the owner with the erratic scripting).
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