EUROPEAN TRANSITIONAL DUELING RAPIER CA.1670

This fast, beautifully balanced transitional rapier [a progenitor of the Norman hilt type 112] dates to the second half of the 17th c., and is mounted with a 69 cm long tri-fold blade. Sword is 85 cm long overall. It's smaller size was suitable for wearing it in a crowd, consequently swords of this size are referred to also as town swords. Absence of knuckle bow and the long grip indicate that the sword may have been used for dueling. See two similar hilts described as dueling rapiers in the Stockholm Livrustkammaren.

Lobed wooden grip survives complete and original, was originally wrapped in steel, silver or brass tinsel, now gone, and is crisscrossed by the still surviving brass rope and two turk's heads. I've included a photo of the similarly-wrapped town sword to show how the grip wrapping may have looked originally.
Bag-shaped ricasso, integral quillon block with horizontally recurved tear shaped quillons with knob finials, along with a melon-shaped ribbed pommel decorated en suite with the quillons help attribute it ca.1660-1680.

References:
A.V.B. Norman - THE RAPIER AND THE SMALL-SWORD 1460-1820
Lena Nordstrom - WHITE ARMS OF THE ROYAL ARMOURY