Do arrowheads appreciate?

[Older The Better]

I’ve never bought a point before, actually tried one time and the auction house accidentally gave the lot I won to someone else when I went to pick them up… anyway I’m trying to decide on a reasonable price and I was thinking if I over pay now will it eventually catch up in value or are points kind of the opposite since more are being found every day?

 

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[CreakyDigger]

I find them to be unappreciative. They never thank you for anything.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

The value of authentic high-quality points does increase in value, even field grades have increased in value just not to the degree of high-quality authentic points..

 

[uniface]

Supply and demand, as with other things.

Although no overall generalization is ironclad, the worse the economy gets, the more things (luxuries like arrowheads, collector coins, original Kentucky rifles) that people like but don't need flood the market (increasing supply), while fewer people have the "discretionary income" to indulge their acquisitive impulses (decreasing demand), resulting in lower prices (decreased value).

As usual, the crazy rare stuff finds rich people who want it, so there are record prices, but this is a narrow market segment (Birdstones, Cumberland/Folsom/Clovis points, 6-inch Flintridge Dovetails). Overall, while I don't buy stuff, I do follow sellers like John Dickinson (ancientartifacts.com) (gangbuster eye candy) and keep seeing him offer nice points for what he paid for them many years ago (at a significant loss due to inflation). And that's the nice (A-minus / B++ grade)

What the artifact equivalents of penny stocks do I don't know, so can't say.

FWIW

 

[crashbandicoot]

I don,t know about the value,but I "appreciate" all you arrowhead guys posting your finds and explaining what they are and why.How to find them,etc.That,s of great "value"to me.Thank you!

 

[ToddsPoint]

With all the fakes out there now younger guys are staying away from artifact collecting. Also, a lot of the old time collectors are dying off and their points are on the market. Very tricky market to invest in. You have to know your stuff or you'll get ripped off for sure.

 

[Kevin D]

great question, and I believe that the greater the information that can be made available to prospective buyers mostly in general, w/ accurate details given in the sale description of an object, the greater the interest then among viewers and buyers. for example, segmenting a collection then by category- such as region, rarity or period in their descriptions might add some interesting context , improving then the likelihood of good sale outcome. and, then w/out offering the right context for the buying public in general, rather than serious collectors, would any 15 be worth more than 10, etc..?

 

[Older The Better]

Thanks for the replies, I am weary of being ripped off, that’s why I was looking at it like “what am I ok with gambling on a modern point. Also If I pay a little more than what an authentic point is worth (because I don’t follow prices) can I get that value back over time.” Not planning to flip anything I just want to play the game competently.

 

[Reulte]

I think the best thing is to keep on learning... that way you can minimize your chances of being ripped off. You can always appreciate knowledge (yes, bad pun intended).

 

[Force_of_Iron]

If you account for inflation most people that bought any points in the last 40 yrs probably lost money on them if they paid retail for them.

 

[unclemac]

ebay prices have gone up a lot in the last 10 years or so. And I have to add to what others have said, you need to KNOW your stuff! My suggestion is to concentrate on one single area and stick with it. And even then, you can narrow it down to an area within an area. Personally I have a good understanding of PNW artifacts, a greater understanding of Columbia River artifacts, and a wealth of information on my specific watershed, which pretty much is just one county. It really does get pretty specific once you delve into this as a hobby or interest.