a lesson learned

[mainejman]

The last few days i have definetly learned a few things about my hobby.There are some folks on here that go find an artifact.Then if they arent familiar with it try to gain some knowledge about it then they proudly display it or in my case i bore the hell out my friends with it.It gathers a little dust then i take it to a historical society where it gets displayed.The joy for me is in the find.Its time shared with friends and family .And knowing im the first to touch this particular find in thousands of years.Thats good enough for me! I would never buy or sell an artifact.Dont own anything that hasnt been found by myself or my son.Not that i am afraid of getting ripped off.Its just that for me its all about the find.I guess i dont find stuff that i feel needs to be authenticated.I dont put myself in situations where i feel the need to authenticate anything like buy or selling usually when money gets involved trouble starts.A few different fellows on here have stated the need to authenticate the same item more than once.Is this to assure yourselves of authenticity or others?Im new to this whole authentification process what does it do besides authenticate? Is there any other benefit?I have a point im gonna have looked at by an archeologist who special izes in this point type.That seems good enough for me.

 

[quito]

If it suites you, go for it.

Just remember, the rocks pretty much last forever, you won't, and with your passing so will their story unless you take steps to preserve it. And I will tell you this, the next owner may want to sell it, or display it. And what Tom Davis, for one example puts in print will carry far more weight in the future than what you have written down or told someone .

Coa's are very common in many collecting fields, and I gather you could care less, but they do preserve an items history and add value on a regular basis. And many serious collectors and finders do go to great lengths documenting their finds and acquisitions, in the interestof preserving the record. It's not always about the money, and who's afraid of a little work? If you can call that work.

 

[old digger]

If it suites you, go for it.

Just remember, the rocks pretty much last forever, you won't, and with your passing so will their story unless you take steps to preserve it. And I will tell you this, the next owner may want to sell it, or display it. And what Tom Davis, for one example puts in print will carry far more weight in the future than what you have written down or told someone .

Coa's are very common in many collecting fields, and I gather you could care less, but they do preserve an items history and add value on a regular basis. And many serious collectors and finders do go to great lengths documenting their finds and acquisitions, in the interestof preserving the record. It's not always about the money, and who's afraid of a little work? If you can call that work.

Very Well Said!

 

[rock]

It isnt free but I have no idea on how much it cost. If I found an important piece I might consider it. I wouldnt trust the mail on a personal find though that is a treasure of mine. Just saying. Also I would be afraid they might make a cast of it and keep the real one, I dont know if that has ever happened before though.

 

[Peyton Manning]

I too love the finding and don't care about value. It is such a rush to spot one and know for a fact that I am the first person who's seen it since it was shot by the native who made it hundred's of years ago. Sort of a connection through time..

 

[Jon Stewart]

I would rather hunt arrowheads than hunt deer and I have been a bow hunter for 50 years. I enjoy walking the desert for 7 hours and maybe find one complete point. I always photo every find before recovery and in my displays I can tell you where every point and bead was found.

The sad part about my hobby is that 90% of the people that I show my things to could give a rip. To them they are just rocks on the wall. I have a very strong appreciation for the artifacts that I find and wonder about every one of them, how they were made and the maker. Arrowhead hunting got me started in flint knapping and hunting with stone heads. I do have one point maybe two that I would like to know for sure what they are. One is a Clovis and the other a Pandale.

On a sad note my wife and I had to take leave of going out west in the winter for at least two more winters thanks to the new health care problems. In other words she went back to work as a nurse for two years. I have hunted here in Michigan but have yet to make a home state find.

There, I got that off my chest, lol.

 

[quito]

It isnt free but I have no idea on how much it cost. If I found an important piece I might consider it. I wouldnt trust the mail on a personal find though that is a treasure of mine. Just saying. Also I would be afraid they might make a cast of it and keep the real one, I dont know if that has ever happened before though.

That's cool rock. Glad you would consider it. I will also say,You can trust the mail. I've had one Issue in well over a thousand deals done through there, and there have been some pretty substantial items involved on occasion and I rarely bother with insurance..

Now if you can't tell the difference between a cast and any point you may send off, just pm me and I will tell you how to tell.

 

[dlos]

To each his own...

99% of my finds are personal finds. When I first started out I purchased a few then as soon as I figured things out and began regularly finding them I no longer felt the need to buy. I look at pieces for sale and am amazed that people will pay posted prices for them. I agree with the OP, the satisfaction for me in is in the actual/physical find, that moment where you know you've got a whole artifact or even a piece of something that would've been amazing if still all there.

Monetizing this hobby, to me, is sad and I feel has jeopardized all of our abilities to continue collecting due to the less than honest element that perceived "value" has introduced.

Authenticating for your personal belief that preserving the provenance IMO is a fine thing. Authenticating for the end means of a sale, well, not so much, again, at least for me. At the end of the day, they are all only worth what someone is willing to pay.

Every point in my collection is priceless, don't think you can put a value on the time it took me to find them with all the walking, sweating, freezing and more!

Happy New Year to all!

 

[Edmundruffin]

The last few days i have definetly learned a few things about my hobby.There are some folks on here that go find an artifact.Then if they arent familiar with it try to gain some knowledge about it then they proudly display it or in my case i bore the hell out my friends with it.It gathers a little dust then i take it to a historical society where it gets displayed.The joy for me is in the find.Its time shared with friends and family .And knowing im the first to touch this particular find in thousands of years.Thats good enough for me! I would never buy or sell an artifact.Dont own anything that hasnt been found by myself or my son.Not that i am afraid of getting ripped off.Its just that for me its all about the find.I guess i dont find stuff that i feel needs to be authenticated.I dont put myself in situations where i feel the need to authenticate anything like buy or selling usually when money gets involved trouble starts.A few different fellows on here have stated the need to authenticate the same item more than once.Is this to assure yourselves of authenticity or others?Im new to this whole authentification process what does it do besides authenticate? Is there any other benefit?I have a point im gonna have looked at by an archeologist who special izes in this point type.That seems good enough for me.

IMHO,
When I see a COA on a artifact that is the first red flag. Someone was unsure enough to seek another opinion. When I see a table full of COA artifacts I think this person should get out of the hobby if he is depending on someone to tell him his stuff is good or bad. COA's and toilet paper have one thing in common. The difference between a collector and a buyer is the method used to acquire the artifact. Most of the time I spend more in gas in the truck and boat that the artifact is worth. But sometimes I hit the jackpot. The real thrill is finding the artifact, seeing the flocks of ducks, seeing a deer swimming the river, smelling the fresh air, talking to fellow collectors and seeing each others finds. COA,s take the thrill out of collecting and turns the whole endeavor into a business. No different in buying and selling pocket knives.
Again my opinion "based on my knowledge to date" .

 

[Rich L]

When I was a kid, I mean a little kid, there was an American Indian man who hung out at Baxter boat dock. He ran the small grocery store located actually on the dock. It was not a busy location or store at all. He would sit on the bench outside of it, often getting pretty drunk too. One day he was sitting on the bench with an antler poking at a rock. I walked over to him and asked him what he was doing and he said he was making an arrow head like the one he was wearing. He showed me how he would chip the edge of the rock and shape it etc. I asked him if it was hard to learn and he said it was actually really easy but people do not have patience anymore and try to break big pieces and their rock falls apart etc.

I asked him if I could try like any little kid would and he said sure but I was probably too young yet because you have to press hard. He gave me the antler and showed me the angle to push at and you guessed it, nothing happened lol. Mom and dad called for me to come get in the boat and I told him thanks but I had to go. I am sure a lot of kids were told to stay away from him as he did not talk much, never really smiled and then there were the times in late afternoon or evening that he was drunk and muttering to himself that likely scared most away, but when you are five or six you pay no attention to such things.

The next day when crossing the dock to head to the boat he called out to me and my father walked me over to him. He told my father he had a gift for me and he held a leather necklace that had the arrow head he had started the day before tied to it now complete. Now I do not recall what I said instantly but I do remember thinking I had about the coolest gift ever given on the planet that day and i asked him if it was mine to keep etc. He said it was and to always remember its value, when i asked him how much it was worth he said "it isn't worth any money, it is a friendship point and those are priceless" i gave him a quick hug and ran down the dock screaming to show my brother and sister the coolest thing in the world!

I suppose opinions can vary, however an arrow head made in 1973 likely does not need to be authenticated, it remains priceless as the day it was passed to me regardless of how much money someone might think it is worth.

 

[ncnurseryman]

Great story!

 

[mainejman]

Gotcha rich l.The value is how happy it makes you.When someone finds a piece of gold they are happy for its value.When you find an artifact id hope at least the initial reaction would be the joy of the find not its monetary value.

 

[monsterrack]

JMO it's the thrill of the hunt, I'm blessed so I can walk a long distance because some can not. The guy that got me started in artifact hunting, I called him yesterday and his health has gotten so bad that all he can do is stay around the house and he is the same age has I am. I have walked 6 or more miles in a day and only found that I was real tired and then there are the days I have walked the same area and thought I was going to run out of pocket room, from the stuff I was finding(that's why I wear a backpack now when hunting). In my area you just never know what you may find like an old bottle (an Andrew Jackson whiskey flask) a mastodon tooth, glass trade beads and the list could go on. Some of my best times with some of my buddy's have been when I was covered in mud, smelled like goat and sitting on the edge of a small wash with just 1 or 2 points in hand.(priceless)

 

[katdancing]

To all, Great Dialog & for me it will always be a Heart Pounding, Blood Rushing to my Head; THRILL!!!!!