Horse shaped proof mark?

[Peck]

I picked up an interesting axe head at a flea market yesterday. Shape is European, similar to a Scandanavian/Viking in style. Markings on the head are a horse shaped proof over the number 800. Any ideas of who the maker was?

 

[Steve Tall]

A good chance it's from Germany, and narrowing it down from a list of German toolmaker trademarks gives these companies:

(Horse, running) Pferd, rennend =
Melzer & Feller, Zella-Mehlis, Thür.

(Horse jumping through a hoop) Pferd durch einen Reifen springend =
August Rüggeberg, Werkzeugfabrik, Marienheide

(Horsehead) Pferdekopf =
Solinger Axt- u. Hauerfabrik G. m. b. H., Solingen-Ohligs

(Horse head with PAA in a circle) Pferdekopf mit P. A. A. im Kreis =
Peter Arnold Altena, Remscheid

from http://www.holzwerken.de/museum/hersteller/marken.phtml

800 is probably the weight of the head, in grams.

 

[300Six]

As Steve suggests the "800" is indicative of the weight of the head in grams and is the European equivalent of 1 3/4 lb.