This year's the first time I've ever purchased some N.A. Artifacts

[Mark Todd]

Ninety-nine percent of my N.A Indian artifacts were found by myself. Of the several hundred pieces that I've found only about a dozen were found by family members.
I found most of them between 1972 and 1987. During that time period I sold 4 of my best artifacts; a perfect and very symmetrical ferruginous quartz hourglass bannerstone in perfect condition.. I sold it in 1982 when we had 2 children and no work, and no vehicle, I received a 1979 Chevrolet Monza with 50 or 60 thousand miles on it, plus $400 cash, which we needed to pay the tax, title, license, and insurance for the vehicle. (Bobby Onken , who has made his millions buying and selling artifacts made the deal with me. There was enough cash left over to purchase a carpet cleaning machine and put an advertisement in the local paper to advertise my new work. We made a living for a few years but just barely getting by, cleaning carpets, planting a big garden (and doing a lot of canning), eating venison and "caught" fish, paying for heat bills and buying Christmas presents for our children with coon hides, etc..
Sometime in the mid 80's I sold a nice little heavily resharpened "dovetail" (St. Charles) point made from a solid grayish-black lithic material with bright solid yellow inclusions, along with a 3 and 1/8th inch Barbed Hardin, made of Brown County Chert, (a particular local "Payson chert" quarrie(s) unknown.
I asked a mere $150 way back then and Kenny Edwards said, yes I'll Buy the gfq,I.needed money to pay the insurance on our house. insurance or real estate taxes, I don't remember which.
In 1987,if memory serves, I found a Barbed "Hardin" that i sold for $500 dollars.
I told Bobby Onkin , that I had found an amazing Hardin piece. I needed money for the local real estate taxes, . $500 seamed like lot to ask back then.. Bobby said, I'll buy it! , he pulled off his belt, unzipped it and handed me $5 /$100 bills..I wondered if I should have asked more ,Onkin proceeded to drop the Hardin on the aluminum fisher strip under the car door right after he handed me 5/$100 dollar bills.. hard to believe but it didn't hurt or damage the point. He sold it a couple of weeks later to "Ollie Schravanie for$. 2,000. It last sold to Dodd DeCamp, a multi-millionaire collector for approximately $35,000 Dollars in .Texas

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[Mark Todd]

Here are.some artifacts I've purchased this year to accentuate my artifact cabinet...

 

[Mark Todd]

A nice medium sized "mill creek" hoe (found in Illinois), a nice large Archaic ( salt & pepper) axe,( full groove) found in Illinois. Those who are familiar with "mill creek " hoes, sometimes called spades will know that the apparent little chip out of the halfting end of the mill creek hoe is textbook cortex for this type of hoe, sometimes called a spade,
and NOT a napping error or a use fracture. I tried to capture some of the use polish on the hoe , which demonstrates that 2 thirds of the hoe regularly was utilized in the dirt and sand for agricultural purposes. Purchased from Bruce Filbrandt, author of The Keokuk Axe Book.

 

[rock]

The 70s and early 80s was a tough time to raise a family. Thats crazy the price of the point selling for in TX. Maybe you will get a nice return on your purchases. I know some people buy and sell and they make some nice $ on doing it.

 

[arrow86]

I would have a hard time ever selling any of mine but under the conditions who knows. Did you ever think when you started collecting that one day it would help keep ur family afloat during hard times? Those are some nice additions to an amazing collection. Some real killers on those shelves .... Especially the bottom shelves. Hopefully one day the ones you parted with will find there way back home ..... You never know what's down the road

 

[Tpmetal]

very nice colletion! good story as well.

 

[Jon Stewart]

What is the stone with the hole in it that is on the deck railing?

 

[11KBP]

Fine collection Mark and really enjoyed reading the history of your early collecting days.

 

[mn9000]

I sure enjoyed that story partner. As a life long Ozark native it really hits home.

My grandfather, grandmother, and my father barely made enough to raise a family in the 1950's & 60's by selling hand tied fishing lures in northern Arkansas. My dad tells story's of finding so many artifacts & grooved ax's etc as a kid that he & his friends would have contests to see who could throw them the furthest across the river.

 

[scruggs]

I know how you feel! I sold (gave away) my collection in a pickup truck for $125.00 in the late 70's. It was hard too. Good luck to you!

 

[DigIron2]

I wasn't even thought of in your early hay day. Haven't bought any artifact or relics yet but sometimes wonder if I should start. Those are the kind of pieces that most of us will never find and purchasing them would be the only way to accumulate them "for most of us". Nice post. You have a Killer collection by the way!

 

[Mark Todd]

I showed most of these pictures before, but for those who have never seen them I will show them again, since they are part of the storyline...

 

[Mark Todd]

Some information on the pottery.
I bought them because they were dug locally and they are from well known Archeological sites. Probably in early to mid 1900's. The jar has a probe hole in the shoulder, but other than that is in perfect condition and has had no restoration work done on it. It came from the Crable Site. The strap handled jar is from the Berry Site and once had a probe hole through the bottom of it, only the hole has been restored. Both Mississippian.
Local jars in this good of condition are pretty rare. For instance, the majority of the scores of pots excavated at the local Dickson Mounds Museum have been restored. The frost line here goes deeper than most of the mortuary burials and therefore much of the pottery that is found may be in dozens or hundreds of pieces. For that reason plain-jane pottery from here commands a much higher price than similar pottery from Southern Zones.

 

[Mark Todd]

The 70s and early 80s was a tough time to raise a family. Thats crazy the price of the point selling for in TX. Maybe you will get a nice return on your purchases. I know some people buy and sell and they make some nice $ on doing it.

I here ya, concerning those "tough times", funny thing is I can honestly say, "They were the worst of times and they were the best of times".
Funny thing is except for the Bannerstone each piece that I sold was found right when I didn't know how I was gonna pay some bill. And as far as the Bannerstone goes, it was only by the common grace of God that I didn't loose it, break it, scratch it it up, or have it stolen. I carried it around with me all the time, one pocket of my Levi's was dedicated to that Bannerstone and nothing else. Can't tell you how many times that Bannerstone was used as a Party "stone". If anyone ever swabbs the hole in it, and does a chemical analysis on it Archeologists might have to consider whether Atlatl weights were perhaps pipes for smoking something other than tobacco.[emoji12]
As far as the amount paid for the Serrated Hardin, seems pretty absurd to me too.
On the other hand, if I was a multimillionaire, I'd try to buy it back tomorrow for $40,000.

 

[Mark Todd]

I would have a hard time ever selling any of mine but under the conditions who knows. Did you ever think when you started collecting that one day it would help keep ur family afloat during hard times? Those are some nice additions to an amazing collection. Some real killers on those shelves .... Especially the bottom shelves. Hopefully one day the ones you parted with will find there way back home ..... You never know what's down the road

The first time I found an arrowhead (actually a perfect knife Or perhaps an atlatl dart) I was hooked on hunting and dreaming about what I might find and what it would of been like living amongst them and the deprivations they endured.

But I had no idea that the very tools of their livelihood would in a sense become my own, or at least a large chapter in the livelihood of my own family. I'm very greatful forthat experience!
On the other hand l don't regret selling those artifacts, of Course I'd like to have them back, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to get the Brown County chert Hardin back (the only one I can afford), but had I not sold them when I did, I-would be ashamed of my selfishness, Not That I'm An Angel!!!

 

[Mark Todd]

The first time I found an arrowhead (actually a perfect knife Or perhaps an atlatl dart) I was hooked on hunting and dreaming about what I might find and what it would of been like living amongst them and the deprivations they endured.

But I had no idea that the very tools of their livelihood would in a sense become my own, or at least a large chapter in the livelihood of my own family. I'm very greatful forthat experience!
On the other hand l don't regret selling those artifacts, of Course I'd like to have them back, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to get the Brown County chert Hardin back (the only one I can afford), but had I not sold them when I did, I-would be ashamed of my selfishness, Not That I'm An Angel!!!

Thanks for your compliments Arrow

 

[Mark Todd]

very nice colletion! good story as well.

Thanks man, glad you enjoyed the story.

 

[Mark Todd]

What is the stone with the hole in it that is on the deck railing?

Glad you asked, it's the
only piece I bought that I'm not even positive is an authentic Indian artifact. I have no suspicion of it being a fake or a reproduction, I'm just not yet convinced that it is an Indian Artifact.
I didn't pay that much for it so I wasn't afraid getting burned on the deal.
The guy I bought it from said it was a war club stone from the northwest U.S..
Namely the Washington Oregon area. He said it was hafted on a wooden shaft shaped kind of like a baseball bat, the club stone would have been slid down the shaft toward the thicker end and and secured there.
I have read about and seen many different examples of "round War Club stones" but never seen one like this.
My hunting buddy thinks it's a Chinese immigrant boat anchor weight used in the early mid 1800's, but I could'nt dig up any such information.
If anyone looking knows better, please speak up.
Thanks

 

[Jon Stewart]

Does the hole go all the way through it? If so maybe a smoke ring (if they exist)?

 

[rock]

I buy some every once in a while from shows. I like the big Paleo and early archaic end scrapers. I dont find hardly and nice end scrapers here.