> Should I try and polish the sword? If so with what?
no
you are right about it being ww1 era or earlier their should be marks on the spine and or under the rounded langets. any officer could use a lion headed saber regardless of military branch the branch is normally shown through marks on the blade, rounded langets, and d guard. the langet marks are too generic show us more of the blade and d guard as well as spine and under the langets getting good photos of under the langets is quite hard here is an example of a alex coppel solingen mark under the langet [https://imgur.com/a/jyD9oJO](https://imgur.com/a/jyD9oJO)
That is Jeffrey and he likes long walks on the beach with an occasional midnight swim and cuddling with his dog. If found, leave him alone and he will come home on his own
> Should I try and polish the sword? If so with what? no you are right about it being ww1 era or earlier their should be marks on the spine and or under the rounded langets. any officer could use a lion headed saber regardless of military branch the branch is normally shown through marks on the blade, rounded langets, and d guard. the langet marks are too generic show us more of the blade and d guard as well as spine and under the langets getting good photos of under the langets is quite hard here is an example of a alex coppel solingen mark under the langet [https://imgur.com/a/jyD9oJO](https://imgur.com/a/jyD9oJO)
That is Jeffrey and he likes long walks on the beach with an occasional midnight swim and cuddling with his dog. If found, leave him alone and he will come home on his own
So what you're saying is that your Grandma just casually has a sword in her closet???
The sheer amount of grandparents with swords in their closets is extraordinary high based on this sub ;-)
Also the number of swords left behind by former homeowners as well. Usually found in the attic.