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Help with a bead

AugustMoose87

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So I was prospecting today and found a small yellow bead. Figuring it was most likely modern, but not wanting to miss out, I brought it home. My first thought was if it was modern, it would likely be plastic, so I took out my lighter to see if it would melt. The good/bad is it didn't melt - but that doesn't tell me if it is modern or not, just that it is glass or ceramic.

Any tips on how to proceed from here??
 
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:hello: Welcome to TNET!

A photo of the bead will greatly help in identifying it.
 
So I was prospecting today and found a small yellow bead. Figuring it was most likely modern, but not wanting to miss out, I brought it home. My first thought was if it was modern, it would likely be plastic, so I took out my lighter to see if it would melt. The good/bad is it didn't melt - but that doesn't tell me if it is modern or not, just that it is glass or ceramic.

Any tips on how to proceed from here??

:hello: Welcome to TNET!

A photo of the bead will greatly help in identifying it.

Need pictures.



yup you gotta post a picture..........then we can help you

welcome to the tnet
 
I'll see what I can do, but due to it's small size and my lack of good photography equiptment, I'm not sure the picture will provide anything. But I should have know better and posted a picture - threads are always better with pictures !! :laughing7:
 
Bead.webp
 
looks like a seed bead....lots and lots of them tiny little buggers...

native-american-arapaho--17961-423d.jpg
 
Yep, I knew that's what it was, just didn't know the name. I don't have my micrometer handy, but some rough measurements from my photo and a bit of math put it around 1.6mm, or a 13° (1.5-1.7mm) or 14° (1.4-1.5mm). But no closer to figuring out if it's modern or not
 
all seed beads are modern in a sense....they replaced quill work in the what?...1850's, 1860's? something like that anyway. But I know what you mean.
 
It's real hard to say if old or new because you can still get glass beads today. Look at the hole real close a modern bead will have a perfect round hole through it and an old style bead will be a little off of being perfect.:dontknow:
 
So then you are telling me that I can go around telling people i have a bead from the 1860's, and no one would be able to correct me, huh? :laughing7:3
 
Check it out under high magnification.
 
No equipment available to me at the moment for high mag.... I'll have to keep an eye out for my magnifying glass in the storage unit.
 

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