Rick:
I have a somewhat similar piece, shown in the admittedly poor photo below. It is, as others have already said, a bit hard to tie down to one place or another. Mine, however, features what I think is a rather worn rooster motif on the pommel, which leads me to think it may originate from French, or possibly Belgian, regions. The trefoil blade is 30 inches in length.
Also attached is a page from Bashford Dean's Court Swords and Hunting Swords that shows swords with features attributed to Scandinavian weapons of the 1780s. The design features are quite similar.
Is the blade on your friend's sword etched? Mine is, but it doesn't show any marker's marks, though the work is quite nice. Long-tailed, parrot-like birds are depicted on both sides, but in different scenes. Sadly, the pommel nut is absent.
M
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