Can anyone school me on my trade beads ( or apparent trade beads )

[Greenwood Charlie]

Hi guys , first post in the fur trade forum.

I have got some old trade beads from a this fellow who said he was Cherokee, last year . I am sure these are authentic and old . But if you had any names or can correct my names that would be cool.



Then I bought this box of apparent trade beads dug in Alert Bay B.C. at the flea market . Some are definitly authentic but most are modern I think.

So I am fixxing this thread since the descriptions didnt go with the pics.
So the first pic is the Cherokee white and blue stripe. Are they called chevrons?

The next pic is from Alert bay, they are definetly handmade glass beads. Are the small ones donuts?
Next pic is more of the colred Alert Bay beads
Next pic is the nice aqua blue beads from my Cherokee friend. Are these called ponies?
Next one are seed beads from him as well.
Then his white tile beads. These ones gotta be old !
Then he sent me these long rectangular black glass with colored specks. Are they called crumbs?
The next 3 are from Alert bay. The next is showing the rolled black glass beads.
Then some blue and aqua donuts
Then some opaque swirls. These remind me of marbles and had to have been made by in the same way.I have no idea of their age but they are far from round! :lol:

 

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[Greenwood Charlie]

It's a little more clear now I hope!


How do you add more pics or add pics to your reply messages?

 

[Steve0]

so these are neat - the ones you say are old are they bone beads or shell? you can add another reply add more just don't do the quick reply.
If you are buying beads you have to watch it they still make them and sell everywhere don't cost much and they look good.
You do have a lot that look old. I never seen any crumbs

 

[Little River Hunter]

If anyone claims they were surface finds or dug up, check for pitting. Do a google search for those types of beads and save the pictures for comparison. The donut-shaped ones look similar to what came from numerous graves in Tampa in the 1830s.

LRH

 

[jeffwhite35]

A couple of books to help educate you is FORT MICHILIMACINAC 1715-1781 An Arhaeoligical Perspective on the Revolutionary Frontier by Lyle M Stone
Guebert Site an 18th century Historic KASKASKIA INDIAN VILLAGE by Mary Elizabeth Good
INDIAN TRADE GOODS by Arthur Wooward
A HANDBOOK ON BEADS by W.G.N. van der Sleen
If you can get copies of this books they will help identify a lot of trade good relics.
I agree with Little River Hunter , these beads are made the same way today.
buyer beware.
I have seen beads being shown at some artifact shows as Americian Indian Trade beads and they were from Africa . but believe it or not they were from the same time period 18th century. The Europeans were trading this stuff around the world at this time not just here . If you know the site the beads came from , and the person is reputable you may be okay.
HI I love your beads
The beads are always my favorite finds. so colorful

 

[Greenwood Charlie]

Steve0 , I was told by the fellow who traded them to me that they are made of tile . At first I thought they were bone as well, but I am pretty sure he was correct. His grampa said they had real age to them, like 150-200 years old.

LRH , That is good advice , thanks. I collect marbles too ,so I know what your talking about.


Hey Jeff , thanks for looking! I am glad you like them!
I will heed your advice for sure. I did buy the box of beads at the fleamarket because I did cherry pick it at first and I knew there was some authentic ones, but I didnt know how many. It wasnt a huge price for the 1000+ beads , and for the amount of material to learn from and the enjoyment my daughter is getting making bracelets and wearing them, it was totally worth it!!




So I have some more pics to share .

The first pic shows some of the common colored galss marbles that were in the box. Pretty tough to say the age. Do you know what the center of these beads is made of? Is it glass wrapped around clay or something?

The next pic is some interesting single finds in the box .

Then the cobalt blue ones. Thats what you would expect to find the most of around here. The natives really liked the blue and white the most apparently.

Then these are some goodies. The red with white center were traded by the Hudsons Bay Company!! The other colors too I believe.
And that yellow orange stripe is super neat!!
And you can see the hour glass shaped ones in the corner.

 

[Little River Hunter]

I don't think that the blue beads with the white core and the green ones with white core, (commonly called white hearts and are a compound bead) are actually all that old. The red white hearts, which have actual gold in them, came out with a yellow core (heart), then dark green and then white, BUT, they did overlap and were still available at the same time, maybe with the exception of the yellow and the white. So, more or less a fading trend or popularity. Other names the red white hearts are known by are, Hudson Bay beads (HBC beads) and Cornelain D'Allepo.

Also, be sure to keep an eye out for people selling beads. If they are strung on raffia (natural cordage from plants), then its highly likely they're from Africa. I seen one site selling hem as actual trade beads from the mid-19th c., but the raffia is a dead give away. Get those book if you can or just Google some pictures of beads from your area and study, study, study! Collecting beads is one habit that I wouldn't bother kicking!

LRH

 

[Little River Hunter]

Also, the red white hearts were sold by traders throughout America, not just HBC, although they are often referred to by that name. I have an original strand that are one of my favorites.

 

[Chris in BC]

real nice collection, I have a few similar that I see in your mix, I am no expert but have researched a little to see what I had found, the blue stripped are not "Chevrons" but are super cool. Here is a quote from a webpage I had bookmarked,,, "The chevron bead is perhaps the most prized. These beads were multicoloured, multi-layered glass, mainly red, white, and blue in colour, and ground on both ends to form a melon shape"
If you wanna see the page, Canada's History - Chevron trade beads and 30/60/90 Years Ago in The Beaver
Nice to see some local history, thanks

 

[JRedHorse]

Hi guys , first post in the fur trade forum.

I have got some old trade beads from a this fellow who said he was Cherokee, last year . I am sure these are authentic and old . But if you had any names or can correct my names that would be cool.



Then I bought this box of apparent trade beads dug in Alert Bay B.C. at the flea market . Some are definitly authentic but most are modern I think.

So I am fixxing this thread since the descriptions didnt go with the pics.
So the first pic is the Cherokee white and blue stripe. Are they called chevrons?

The next pic is from Alert bay, they are definetly handmade glass beads. Are the small ones donuts?
Next pic is more of the colred Alert Bay beads
Next pic is the nice aqua blue beads from my Cherokee friend. Are these called ponies?
Next one are seed beads from him as well.
Then his white tile beads. These ones gotta be old !
Then he sent me these long rectangular black glass with colored specks. Are they called crumbs?
The next 3 are from Alert bay. The next is showing the rolled black glass beads.
Then some blue and aqua donuts
Then some opaque swirls. These remind me of marbles and had to have been made by in the same way.I have no idea of their age but they are far from round! :lol:

The top ones (White with blue stripes) are English Chevrons, pic #2,3,4, 8 & 9 are called Pony beads. the others I am unsure of with out inspecting them in hand. Nice collection though!

 

[Beadman]

its disheartening to see people being ripped off....1900 and possibly late 1800s ....all african if even that.....in other words ....modern beads....gotta do your research before buying....people can tell you anything....1 key red flag is if they r cheap....good bead/beads r very expensive and well sought after buy the advanced collector....the top beads are not the 1500 1600 blue chevron....im sorry to say....they r getting increasingly rare to find these days

 

[Beadman]

the top bead is a 2 part colored bead ...white body with blue stripe.....1500 chevrons are up to 7 layers of glass....4 to 5 layers being more common....they are a poly compound colored bead....with many layers of glass......with the key red star end...hence why we call the (star beads)......you know an authentic 1 when you see it......