Hi Sid,
That looks like a fairly old blade, but it is hard to say how old. There is some active rust that should be removed I think. Cleaning and polishing the blade might reveal some further marks. I am unfamiliar with the dots and lines shown, and have not seen similar marks on dha/daab before, although southern Chinese swords occasionally have the "Seven Stars" marks that looks a bit similar to the lines/large dots depicted on this blade. The small round protruding piece on the spine may be a metal insert, possibly brass. Again, cleaning and polishing the blade would show that better.
Regards, Ian
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