Surprise At Work Today

[The Grim Reaper]

So this happened today at work. One of my regular customers had brought this in and showed it to me a couple months ago. He said he found it in his garden about 30 years ago and had never seen another piece of Flint since. So today he comes in and says "hold out your hand" and puts this in my hand and says "I've had this a long time and I want you have it now". I didn't know what to say. I tried to offer him money and he refused and said he knew I would take care of it and enjoy it because I had told him more about in the 15 minutes we talked when he first brought it in than he had ever been able to find. It's a nice Thebes with good grinding and very heavily beveled. It's made from what we call Franklin Furnace Green but I've been told it's a variety of heat treated Carter Cave. Any opinions on material are welcome.

 

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[NCPeaches]

So sweet of him to gift it to you, it's a beauty.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

So sweet of him to gift it to you, it's a beauty.

I know. I'm still in awe of it. I think he just became my favorite customer.

 

[joshuaream]

That cross section shows some of the best early archaic bevelling I’ve seen. Flat faces and sharp angles, I like it.

 

[ToddsPoint]

Nice piece. Thebes are just classic pieces. Named by archaeologist Howard Winters after the town of Thebes in SW IL, right on the Mississippi River. He dug the site in the 60's but none of the data from the dig can be found.

Pioneer archaeologist Warren Moorehead wrote a 2 vol. treatise called "The Stone Age in North America" around 1900. In that book Moorehead calls the beveled piece like Grim's a "rotary spear". They actually thought the beveling would cause the spear to rotate when thrown. Gary

 

[newnan man]

Nice gift! Thebes are one of my favorites. I've traded for several but have never found one. Franklin Furnace brings a few memories. Used to fish near there on the Ohio for big cat fish. Mostly caught a buzz!

 

[redbeardrelics]

Congratulations ! It is great to hear stories like this and to see a really nice piece land in a good home. Often when people come across a nice artifact-relic-antique that they don't know much about, they get so many dishonest or misinformed opinions and offers for it, that when they get an honest and informed response it affects them in a positive way. I know it's already been pointed out a couple times already, but the extreme beveling on that piece bears exclamation again! We don't have Thebes points where I am, so I would appreciate if those of you familiar with them could give us the things you notice and look for to differentiate them from points you might call Kirk corner notched?

 

[choo]

That's a nice gift he gave you Grimm! Love those Thebes points the material is really nice too!

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Congratulations ! It is great to hear stories like this and to see a really nice piece land in a good home. Often when people come across a nice artifact-relic-antique that they don't know much about, they get so many dishonest or misinformed opinions and offers for it, that when they get an honest and informed response it affects them in a positive way. I know it's already been pointed out a couple times already, but the extreme beveling on that piece bears exclamation again! We don't have Thebes points where I am, so I would appreciate if those of you familiar with them could give us the things you notice and look for to differentiate them from points you might call Kirk corner notched?

Both types, Thebes and Kirk, are from basically the same time period. The differences I see are first and foremost the beveling. Second would be how Kirks are resharpened compared to the Thebes, Lost Lakes, and Dovetail which were all resharpened by the beveling of the edges thus keeping the meatiness ( for lack of a better term) of the body on the Point. Kirks, on the other hand, were resharpened differently. As they were sharpened the body of the Point would get narrower on each sharpening until you see some with huge wings and very narrow blades that most people will incorrectly call the Drills. Just my opinion on the subject. Let's see what others say.

 

[IAMZIM]

That's awesome! It pays to make friends of all forms, old, young, or whatever!

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Looks Modern....

Really thou, that is a nice little score!! Looks like someone deserves a free lunch or 2..

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Looks Modern....

Really thou, that is a nice little score!! Looks like someone deserves a free lunch or 2..

He will definitely get better deals on things he buys. lol

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Nice piece. Thebes are just classic pieces. Named by archaeologist Howard Winters after the town of Thebes in SW IL, right on the Mississippi River. He dug the site in the 60's but none of the data from the dig can be found.

Pioneer archaeologist Warren Moorehead wrote a 2 vol. treatise called "The Stone Age in North America" around 1900. In that book Moorehead calls the beveled piece like Grim's a "rotary spear". They actually thought the beveling would cause the spear to rotate when thrown. Gary

When I found my first beveled piece that is what I thought it was for. I figured it made it spin in flight. I think I was 16 or 17 so 1975 or '76.