Dagger Ident-first timer

Can anyone identify this?

Correction

(My father-in-law found this on his farm about 50 some years ago. The farm is in the Eau Claire area of Wisconsin. 50 or so miles east of Minneapolis MN. I think it may be a French dagger. They did have French fur traders in that area he says. Any chance it could be of Viking origin. )

-----Correction, the wife was looking over my shoulder after I posted this. Her father bought this at an auction in northern Wisconsin from a farmer who was in Europe during WWII. Apparently he found it in a field while over there This is original, there is pitting & wear marks from use that are not recent.

Any help would be appreciated. It has been a family mystery. A pistol was found in the general vicinity but was stolen a few years back. It had an internal cap trigger w/ reverse guard as my wife’s father remembers.

Thanks
Ron Dorsch

I would suggest taking it to your nearest college and see what they might say about it. If it is significant, they may want to conduct a dig on your grandfather's farm. Seems a bit fancy for a trade knife but I really don't know much about that sort of thing. There are all sorts of odd speculations about early peoples exploring or traveling that far west. Vikings, Knights Templar, etc. Seems some artifacts may have actually been found to support these claims. Enough that they made mention of it on the History Channel.

Then again, it could be a ceremonial prop from a local club that some kid stole and tossed into the field as he went past.

Do you know what country in Europe it was found in?

Not an expert here but it looks like a Knights Templar ceremonial what ever. The item does not look substantial enough as a working dagger. If it is so, that thing is really old. I will have to find my Masonic books for a working date or for the owner to Google "Knights Templar" and look for artifacts.