RARE COLONIAL AMERICAN BELT OR POUCH AXE LATE 17TH-18TH CENTURY

4 ¼” (4.21”) height bit with round eye and step below, to the back edge. The bit and socket with notched edge decoration. 9 ½” overall length. Wood haft with hot file branding, original to its working life. Transverse nail hole below the head from having been mounted on a traveling exhibit which toured New England in the1960’s. See Swords and Blades of the Revolution, Neumann, #1.A ,#3.A and #7.A for similar examples and note that the author states that these small axes were carried in riflemen’s pouches, though few survive.