The 'A' stands for the Amsterdam office of the Vereenigde Ootindishe Compagnie (V.O.C.). This cutlass has been named a ship's cutlass since it is thought to have formed part of the ship's supply rather than as a personal weapon. A similar cutlass [with the device for the Middleburg Office of the V.O.C.] is in the Nederland Historisch Scheepvaartmuseum in Amsterdam, No.B 242(7), described and illustrated in J.P. Puype Blanke Wapens, Lochem, 1981, p.55, plate 63.