Did I get a great deal at auction or just buy a bunch of fakes?

[RamRodX]

Did I get a great deal by buying the following at auction for $50? Or did I just buy a bunch of fakes? I purchased these through LiveAuctioneer from Quincy Relic INC in Quincy, IL. The auction notes said, "Out of the Robert Warrenberg Collection Collected from the mid to late 1900’s"

 

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[villagenut]

Looks like a real collection....I would be happy with it.

 

[smokeythecat]

I concur. I think most if not all are authentic. They just have that look to it. The aboriginal Americans were not real interested in "perfectly made points" like modern flint knappers like to make. (BTW I just started trying that, I have been successful in wrecking quite a bit of flint!)

 

[joshuaream]

As I look at the group, I think you have more than one rechip in that bunch. Rechip= An old base or tip that had the broken parts corrected by reflaking part of the point. It was considered restoration by many early collectors, but now it's generally frowned upon by collectors.

But for $50, if a couple of them are decent and you spend some time studying them with magnification to learn from them, I think you got a good deal.

 

[Rustynailsandscrews]

They are real arrow heads but when and where were they actually made ? That is the question and with the influx of counterfeit artifacts without any historical documentation, they could have been made in China or Mexico just a year or two ago. So artifacts without a very clear history or documentation are a poor investment because of counterfeiting. Just because some one say's it's from a collection doesn't mean anything without documentation. The only arrow heads I believe to be historic are the ones I find myself.

 

[RamRodX]

Thanks for the perspective! I'm glad they don't appear to be obvious fakes. If were to study them under magnification, what would I look at? The shape of the flaking?

 

[joshuaream]

Thanks for the perspective! I'm glad they don't appear to be obvious fakes. If were to study them under magnification, what would I look at? The shape of the flaking?

There are a couple of things to look for.

First, and most obvious is often a different color in the freshly chipped surface. It's essentially a newer surface. This is frequently covered up with a little stain or dirt. This can be very hard to see on some materials. A blacklight can often help show the differences, but any angled light might help show the difference in gloss/texture.

Second is the angle of the flaking. Often times the goal of rechipping is just to give a shape without losing length. The flaking will often be very steep, not producing a sharp edge, vs having a lower angle to produce a sharper edge.

Third is the outline. Some points have that pentagonal shape (base, two sides, and two sides that angle to form the tip), but it wasn't all that common. I wouldn't expect to see it on that many points of different types in the same frame.

The fourth is the tip. Not all types have needle point tips, a couple of those would be likely to have more rounded/squared tips. (Squared tip isn't actually a big square, the white piece in the bottom row has a squared tip.)

 

[ToddsPoint]

I agree. Several rechips. The little red point in the lower right with the yellow stripe looks like Horse Cr. flint from TN. If it is, the chances of it being found near Quincy is pretty small. Gary

 

[Rookster]

That looks pretty good for a wall display.

 

[RamRodX]

Thanks for the great info! Under loupe magnification, I can definitely see a difference in the gloss with a few of them and the black light was very helpful. It seems like a mixture of re-chipped and unaltered points, but all likely original. I'm still learning how to identify these points, but am I correct in thinking that the 2 3/4" dovetail at the top center is valued at more than $200? If so, that one point alone made the purchase worth it.

 

[Theakiki]

Very nice!

 

[CaptEsteban]

I agree. Several rechips. The little red point in the lower right with the yellow stripe looks like Horse Cr. flint from TN. If it is, the chances of it being found near Quincy is pretty small. Gary

Horse Creek Chert is SOOO NICE !

 

[Twitch]

Thanks for the great info! Under loupe magnification, I can definitely see a difference in the gloss with a few of them and the black light was very helpful. It seems like a mixture of re-chipped and unaltered points, but all likely original. I'm still learning how to identify these points, but am I correct in thinking that the 2 3/4" dovetail at the top center is valued at more than $200? If so, that one point alone made the purchase worth it.

RamRod - I don't believe the upper two middle points are good. Of course I don't have them in hand and may be wrong, I'd just temper my expectations on those two in particular. Overall there are some nice points in there but like others have pointed out, there are also a handful (~7-8) that appear to be either modern or at least altered.

 

[joshuaream]

I agree with Twitch.

RamRod - I don't believe the upper two middle points are good. Of course I don't have them in hand and may be wrong, I'd just temper my expectations on those two in particular. Overall there are some nice points in there but like others have pointed out, there are also a handful (~7-8) that appear to be either modern or at least altered.