It's really hard to tell what it is, but it's a classic case of what I wrote about the other day pertaining to the material. You can easily tell that it is the real "Wrought Iron" iron. High Silica content and as the iron portion rusts away, it leaves that characteristic wood-grain look. That's the Silica material remaining. So, that real Wrought-Iron dates it, I would guess, well over 100 yrs old. It also looks like it's been formed and Forge-Welded back together to form the tang. Sure wish I could see in in person.
EKW