Is this a real Damascus steel katana?

I bought this katana from a little knickknacks store and the owner told me that the man he bought it from said it was a Damascus steel katana. He said the previous owner also claimed that he had gotten it custom made. I was showing this beautiful blade to a friend the other day and they said that it is worth a few thousand dollars at least. I only paid $250 for it. Could anyone tell me if it is a real Damascus steel katana and what it could potentially be worth? The swirl design does show up on the spine of the blade as wel  

Fair