A silver hilted small sword for comments.

[Radboud]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Interestingly, the M1796 officers sword had pretty much this shape guard so it seems to have become popular 1770s-90s and been known across Europe. The small sword itself had become pretty much outdated in civilian terms and military officers dress swords followed a heavier version of the style in 1790s.

A. V. B. Norman dates the boatshell type of hilt to the 1720s and onwards. He referred to it as the Type 113 in his book, "The Rapier and Small-Sword 1460 - 1820"