Buying Artifacts

[TSUMS]

I am a very experienced and deadly sniper on ebay,with lots of confirmed kills..lol.. the person who paid 300 dollars for that slate point was probably smoking the peace pipe...

[CMD]

Many years ago I had the opportunity to purchase a ground slate point from southeastern New England. I passed on it. The ground slate point I won on eBay was the first time I had seen one available since the one from years ago. They are not common. In fact, they are very rare from my region. I've never bought an artifact as an investment. Some things I have purchased I could sell for a profit. Others I would break even, and others take a loss. The second high bidder on the slate point I won bid $5 less then me, and he was the major dealer from my region, the guy who offered me the slate point that I passed on years earlier. He was not bidding $5 less then I in order to add it to his personal collection. He knew it was worth more then he was bidding, and so did I. Bidding $10 less then myself was a good friend of mine. Although eBay hides bidder ID's, one can use feedback total to figure out who the other bidders are at times, and that's what I did. To try and better know who my competition was.

But, even though I can easily get my money back for the killer slate point I bought, all that really matters to me is the enjoyment I derive from owning it, for the period I do own it. The person who paid $300 for the small example that highlights this thread may have overpaid, but if he enjoys the hey out of owning it, that is all that matters. It's unlikely that spending $300 for something where he might be hard pressed to recoup his money upon resell, is going to ruin him. Just because someone thinks that point is not worth that money does not mean it's not worth it to someone else. It is in fact an example of an artifact type that is simply not that common at all. I waited many years before another opportunity presented itself. Had my connections among collectors been far more extensive, maybe I could have found one easier and sooner. If anyone thinks ground slate projectiles from the Northeast are dirt common, guess again.

[Kyflintguy]

Ha I'm seeing more and more all the time Charlie! Imagine that!?!

[TSUMS]

Like you said they are pretty rare , and the one you showed was a great example especially being from rhode island... the one the guy paid 300 dollars for was not a real great example...but in his eyes he really liked it...we all have pieces that we love and cherish but the next person would think oterwise.

[-=METACOM=-]

I appreciate the responses, lots of helpful information here. Seeing as how that particular type is rare to the area, I can understand someone willing to pay a higher price for it.

On a side note, I can also say I'd be willing to overpay if I saw a piece I liked from my area. I suppose a lot of collectors get more of a kick out of local artifacts.

[TSUMS]

There is a nice slate point from massachusetts for sale on ebay right now...and wouldn't you know the seller lIves not that far from me..

[CMD]

There is a nice slate point from massachusetts for sale on ebay right now...and wouldn't you know the seller lIves not that far from me..

The two basal notches, that the seller focuses on, are not the same notching that Overstreet is pointing out. More common is the type of notching seen on the stems of ground slate points seen in this thread. And that's what the Overstreet description is referring to, but maybe the basal notches on that point are some type of variation on a theme. That is a very nice point, if it's genuine.

[TSUMS]

I would love to have it...but I don't want to get into a bidding war...the bidder right now might have a high amount he is willing to pay..

[pkfrey]

That point may be genuine, but I don't think it fits into the same category of the Maritime Archaic ground slate points that we are all referring to. I think that point is later, even possibly gong into the historic period.

[Hoss]

I agree Paul. I own a slate point but it is not a Maritime Archaic slate point. Mine is a triangle.This one was found in Litchfield Co CT. by my Dad back in the 1950's

[-=METACOM=-]

That's a really nice piece... thanks for sharing.

[pkfrey]

Hoss, Even though that's not the much sought after stemmed variety, it's much rarer. I've actually never seen or handled a slate triangle like that. That''s a nice piece!!

[CMD]

That point may be genuine, but I don't think it fits into the same category of the Maritime Archaic ground slate points that we are all referring to. I think that point is later, even possibly gong into the historic period.

The Laurentian Tradition also made ground slate points, not necessarily connected to the Maritime Archaic, but also Late Archaic. Ground slate points found on Otter Creek camps, for instance, and well removed from the Maritime Archaic culture area. I know when I think of ground slate points, I'm not just thinking of Maine and Maritime Canada. I doubt the one I showed from Providence is related to the Maritime Archaic per se, nor the crude example that started this thread for that matter.......Interestingly, the Laurentian Tradition is known for side notched forms. Whose to say the ground slate point that just sold from Ma was not a ground slate variation on a Laurentian type? Perhaps unlikely, but it seems conceivable. The Laurentian Tradition people fashioned their own ground slate projectiles. Ground slate points of Maritime Archaic and Laurentian Tradition are similar, though, and the point in question is the only one like it that I've seen. Still, just a thought. The small stem point tradition seems to be ancestral to the Moorehead Phase in Maine, and the Laurentian tradition, which utilized ground slate a lot, is very scarce on the coast of Maine. Check out the ground slate points from Norway. Similar technology throughout the circumpolar regions.....

[Mojomike]

i find the locals want the local stuff first off.I sold what was left of my collection a few years ago which was 278 artifacts,my favorites at the time,my friend bought them because they were local points within the 3 parishes we hunted.i got $6,000. bucks which only comes to about $21.50 per point,a great deal for him being a lot of these were the best i've found from our area,,i also threw in some books and broken stuff like 2 broken atl atl weights and a plummet.He didn't want my collection from California from the year i spent there collecting.I still have those.I think locals like the local stuff best then venture out to get things that are different from their area if they are the type to buy and not find only.

[CMD]

Check out this cache of 11 ground slate points, found in Vermont. Largest was about 12". From a private collection.

[Soulful 1]

Those are really nice ! The state that I was born in. They are definitely beyond my means.

[-=METACOM=-]

Those were all found together? Was it a dig? I bet those sold for quite a bit, that's incredible.