Well... That's what the savings account is for!
Again Nice! It's nice to have friends to annoy.
Skirmishing was and still is a popular tatical militery method.
It looks like a British lion pommel to me but could as easily have been cutlered in Germany or America. The slotted hilts tend to run from about the 1750s in England and Europe, right up through the first decade of the 19th century in America. Even the British 1803 officer's sword is still really an extension of the form. George Neumann lists some German lion pommel hangers and hunting swords right back to the 1720s but this one is third quarter of the 18th century and my hunch is it was made in England. what becomes the british 1803 has a more refined lion's head and other details.A s I say, it could easily be of German origin or even higher quality American (if so, most likely post dating the revolution)
if not wood, the grip is likely horn. Plastics really weren't much in development before the 1850s. Celluloid is 1869 (iirc) and bakelite 20th century.
These swords fetch pretty good money and that looks like a nice example.
We have a pretty good thread going on about slotted hilts over at www.swordforum.com in the Antique & Military forum.
http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?t=82422
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