American adaptation of an English silver hilted hanger of about 1700.  23 1/8” length with 18 1/8” curved saw back blade struck with a king’s head mark each side. Silver ferrule and pommel. Antler grip. The guard removed and the grip reseated with a velvet blade seat. It was reassembled with the pommel reversed, verifying that it was altered and not simply had a broken guard removed. As with virtually all serviceable weapons, it was pressed into service during the Revolution. As with many of these, it had its guard removed which provided quicker access and better purchase in action, specific to riflemen firing from cover and who could be ferreted out by scouts, after the shot was taken, and attacked.  The weapon needed for the defense was a short sword or large knife for hand-to-hand fighting. Civilian hangers were well suited but the guards inhibited immediate purchase and often, as here, were simply broken off to give immediate access to the grip. It is untouched as found in New England in the 1960s.