Old barn auctions

[Nwohseeker]

Here's an interesting read on their website lol. I live about 20 minutes from this place and have gone to a few of their auctions I've never bought anything though and probably never will. Read the first paragraph and let's hear some thoughts. Reads to me as " yeah we know we sell fakes, but we warned you so it's not our fault".

 

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[Tdog]

I'd say if you're not up to snuff on what to look for in fake artifacts, don't spend big money on any.

 

[Tony in SC]

Since they have had auctions before where do they get enough of this rare stuff to have an auction?

 

[Sunny Side]

Jan Sorgenfrie used to run it. It was mostly clean in the early days, then started to get real bad at the end. Dentists are mostly honest until they are ready to retire, then it’s crowns crowns and more crowns. Same principle.

 

[CreakyDigger]

That's definitely a "We will take advantage of you if you don't know what you are doing" disclaimer.

 

[Nwohseeker]

Yes when Jan ran the place they were better. There have been other threads on this place here before, the other Ohio guys will know about them. They actually sold a dovetail here years ago for over 100k. So they aren't all fakes but in the 7 years I've been checking their auctions I think this disclaimer is new. I think it puts an even bigger dent in their already shaky reputation with knowledgeable collectors.



Tdog, I agree wholeheartedly but we've all heard of or know somebody who's been had by a fake. Not all collectors know to take things at face value. People have more money than sense a lot of the time.


Tony, they only have around 4 auctions a year for artifacts. They get consignments and probably old farm estate stuff so who knows what else gets mixed in.

 

[gilmerman]

You are only sure of (what you find).

 

[quito]

You are only sure of (what you find).

Now that’s not really true.

You must have been speaking for yourself huh?

 

[The Grim Reaper]

My brother bought some stuff from them years ago before he knew better. He sent them off to be authenticated and every piece was killed by two different people and by myself. He contacted Old Barn and they basically told him they can't guarantee anything they sell is authentic. It's up to the buyer to decide before they buy.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

You are only sure of (what you find).

True to a point, but we've all seen obvious fakes on here claimed to be found in fields or creeks.

 

[dognose]

I agree, when Jan ran the place it was much better.

Its a business, plain and simple. Its a BIG business.

Many of the auction companies who specialize in Indian relics, used to be Native american relic collectors exclusively. Over time as the older Auction companies faded into retirement others saw the amount of capital being generated and moved to fill the void. Many are fully aware they have reproductions but likely are not culling them out due to certain factors. They have many years of experience in Native American relics. Some of the auction companies are owned by these individuals who are present at sales but are not the individuals barking the sale- they are not the actual auctioneers.

Then you must distinguish between consignment sales and owner sales. Consignment where the auction companies don't personally won the relics being auctioned and then owner sales where the action companies own the actual relics in the sale.

 

[joshuaream]

Findley was an hour and change from my house when I was a kid, so I went to a lot of auctions when I was growing up. Jan was awesome, and I proudly bought a couple of pieces from his collection when Cowen’s sold it off.

Perhaps I am a bit more jaded/grumpy as I get older, but auction houses, eBay sellers, a couple of COA printers and regular dealers sell a type of artifact that certain types of collectors want. I used to think collectors of those items needed/wanted to be ‘saved’ or protected from fakes, but the reality is they are collecting exactly what they want.

If you want a beautiful collection of orange quartz pop-eyed birdstones, or have a large frame of Hopewell Effigy pipes, the only way to do so is buying relics that most of us wouldn’t buy.

Even if you wanted to spend a several million dollars building a collection it would take years to acquire a collection of Hopewell pipes, there simply aren’t that many out there and the people who have authentic, documented examples aren’t inclined to sell them (you have to wait for them to come up for sale, or build relationships so you get offered the pieces when they become available.) On eBay, however, you can build a collection of them for $100-$1000 each in a year, and turn around and sell them for a similar value.