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  • Trade beads...

    I was wondering if anyone knew anything about trade beads? I was at an import store in Grand Junction, CO, and the owner (Jamaican lady) was closing her store for good. I really lucked out because I happen to walk in on the last day of her big sale. She had a ton of beaded necklaces. I ended up buying this necklace for $5! I didn't think much of it until I showed my friend. He said it looked very old and authentic. Not knowing much about them, my wife ended up unstringing them to take a couple of the cobalt beads. It was strung with horse hair, and there is a lot of stain built up on the inside of the beads. They are also very inconsistent (size/ shape), so I don't think they were machined or modern. The teeth are also very old looking, and I think this necklace is the real deal! Any thoughts about this piece???

  • #2
    Our trade beads came mostly from Hudson Bay or the Russian fur trappers. There were later beads scattered in the camps but the old ones are mostly Blue Russian or Hudson. I was told once that the Indians picked up a lot of the beads out here from stores in the late 1800's. Seed beads are common as are white clay but they are newer styles. I am not up on trade beads a lot so not much help. I know of the copper rolled beads as I haave found some. I think that different parts of the country had different types.

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    • #3
      I know for sure that the multi colored beads are Chevron beads, the glass are Cobalt, and the rolled metal beads are copper.  I just can't find anything out there on Chevrons, other than I've seen a few sold on Ebay for around $10 to $30 each!

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      • #4
        A few years ago while in Quartzite Arizona I happened on to a booth. The guys running it were from Africa and were selling African trade beads. I was amazed as the beads were just like the ones we find here so later I looked up and found out that the trade beads were from the same time as ours Seems that the trade for beads during those years  happened in Africa also. They were selling huge amounts of these beads for not a lot of money. After that I have wondered about all the trade beads I see selling. I for my own collection would not have any trade beads that I did not find myself. They may be the same age but not owned by our Native Americans. I don't know if there is anyway to tell the difference between these African trade beads and ours? Someone may know.

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