Eight Glass Trade Beads Anyone?

[OntarioArch]

Please explain to me how these 8 beads sold for $550. Yesterday. Is it the bead held by photographer's fingers that is so valuable? Because it is "polychrome"....meaning multi-colored?
Or could it be that the stripes on four of the beads are thought to have been hand painted? Nah. No Way!

 

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[Mackaydon]

"Beauty (and value) is in the eyes of the beholder."
Don...

 

[metrotec]

A friend has a bead that came from E TN. Hold it up to the light/sun, inside is a picture of a full dressed French Soldier. Go figure. Came from a Cherokee Village

 

[Noah_D]

A friend has a bead that came from E TN. Hold it up to the light/sun, inside is a picture of a full dressed French Soldier. Go figure. Came from a Cherokee Village

That sounds awesome! Do you have a picture? I'd love to see it.

 

[smokeythecat]

Price is high. Was that on Ebay or another kind of auction? They ARE early. The one on the bottom right seems to be a blue padre bead, a common type, the one on the upper right, if dark blue is a Huron type bead. But that kind of money, I don't know.

 

[OntarioArch]

Jim Bennett's auction of the Iron Horse Collection. I sure can't explain it.

 

[smokeythecat]

Then it's people just getting carried away. They will have a near impossible time selling them for that kind of money. I bought a few of the Huron beads for less than $20 some time back.

 

[Charl]

Sometimes people pay a premium if a piece or pieces were found close to where they live. Not saying that’s the case, since I have no way of knowing, but that does happen, because I have seen it happen. But usually you need at least two people who really want it. If a regular auction house, and not ebay, some bidders leave absentee bids. If such a bidder left a high bid, for whatever personal reason, watch out. The House knows that bid exists, and it will reach that bid, more often than not. The House will make sure it reaches that bid.

 

[pepperj]

Was listening to a money program on the CBC radio about this crazy, frenzy, buying prices. So might explain the price.
They gave an example of a box of bubble gum cards. $5.00 a year ago, now are selling out at $150.00 a box.
Collector craze is opening up, as homes.

 

[monsterrack]

Those beads might be worth $75 to someone that just really wanted them. It could be that they were tied to the Iron Horse collection or as said a bidding war was going on. The beads that are pictured are not that rare. The rarest one is the Chevron being held.

 

[smokeythecat]

The chevron is probably a 4 layer. I have some 6 and 7 layer chevrons. Not many.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

I saw that on the auction as well and was shocked they went that high. Someone wanted those badly.