Indian Trade Silver

[unitas]

I've posted in-situs of the following finds in the fur-trader forum on two occassians. Now that I have nicer photos of these finds I'd like to show them here. They truly are some of my best finds. I discovered this particular site a few years ago. It wasn't until this year,when I found a trade silver brooch on the surface that I got real excited over giving this site more attention. I returned to the site with my friend and his son and found the items below with the help of metal detectors.First up is the smaller trade brooches. We have discovered a total of seven of them.





Next up is the larger brooch which I've seen described as an ear wheel. You can still see part of a root lodged in it.





We were also able to locate a small arm band. It is marked "MONT".







Also found was this great brass bell. It is smashed and would've been about 4 inches in diameter.





A drilled thimble was found, perhaps used as a tinkler.





Parts of a gun were also recovered as well as an 1834 cent. I will try to post them as well. Thanks for looking., UNITAS

 

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[unitas]

Here are the gun parts including a nice gun flint that was found in one of the holes we dug.

 

[Colonial Zoyboy]

Unitas, those are some Hall of Fame-like artifacts there. Keep on hitting that site with the Fur Trade fever!!!!

Kyle

 

[Cheezie]

Well Done! Excellent historical metal, the bell in particular is extremely similar to a Mayan bronze bell, which was their most abundant metal item. Find it all and have origin tests done if you can, Michigan copper or what..

 

[Detectingfreak]

dude thats awesome! Congratulations!

 

[NGE]

I see something in the area marked in white........

 

[unitas]

I see the "mark" as well. I assure you it's dirt/corrossion. I'll get some better photos. Thanks for your interest.

 

[crazyjarhead]

Nice artifacts. Good luck on future hunts

 

[starwarsblazer]

Those finds are awesome! Grats!

 

[Southern_Boy]

Those are some really nice finds...could you explain the Indian Trade Silver and how you were able to prove it?

 

[CRUSADER]

The piece marked MONT is not the whole word. I can see more letters 'MONT?M. Have a closer look. It may also be up side down although the T is pretty convincing & doesn't seem to be any other clear letter.

 

[seger98]

I've seen the posts you had in the fur trade area, still very nice finds!


Chris

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Very nice finds unitas!

The letters on the arm band you found stand for 'Montreal'.

Silversmiths in Québec City, Montréal, London and various American cities, including New York, Philadelphia and Detroit, made trade silver. Because of the high demand between 1780 and 1820, it became a mainstay of the silversmiths' trade. Major Canadian makers included Robert Cruickshank, Charles Arnoldi, Pierre Huguet dit Latour, Joseph Schindler and Narcisse Roy. At times, such masters would employ up to 30 other silversmiths to help meet the demands of fur traders. Larger pieces bore the mark of the silversmith; smaller pieces usually did not. Fashioned from coin silver, usually melted down and shaped or hammered into thin sheets, trade silver was produced in large quantities (see COINAGE). The most important requirement from the trader's point of view was that the pieces be thin, both to reduce cost and to make the silver light for transportation into the interior.

European fur traders traded silver JEWELLERY to the Indians from the mid-17th to early 19th centuries. From the earliest exchanges (between seasonal fishermen and the Indians) SILVER played an important role. The first pieces of silver were medals and military gorgets (ie, crescent-shaped pendants symbolizing rank), presented by the French, British, Dutch and Spanish to their respective Indian allies. Then came a number of other designs, based on European fashions and traditions, such as crosses and Luckenbooth hearts, a love token popular in Scotland in the 18th century. Circular brooches of varying sizes, sometimes decorated with engravings or cutout geometric designs, were very common. Eventually, Indian designs were fashioned in silver as well, to produce such items as concave, round brooches that copied similar adornments made from shell in precontact times. Earrings, bracelets, headbands, square brooches and animal effigies were also worked in silver for the FUR TRADE.

Silver became a symbol of friendship and alliance and was first used in military alliances during the colonial wars. Later, fur traders presented gifts of silver to the chiefs of tribes with whom they wanted to trade. Viewed not as a bribe but as a token of goodwill, the practice followed an Indian tradition most commonly associated with WAMPUM exchange, and symbolized an agreement between equals. Eventually, fur traders realized that silver could be a lucrative trade item: small, easy to transport, locally made and much sought after by the Indians. An Indian hunter might as easily trade 3 beaver pelts for a silver brooch as for a blanket or iron knife blade. In the fierce competition between the HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY and the NORTH WEST COMPANY, the British-based HBC tried to avoid introducing silver into its trade because it was a fairly expensive item. However, the NOR'WESTERS were so successful that the British were forced to introduce trade silver in 1796. In 1821, when they took over control of the Montréal-based NWC, the first item dropped from the trading lists was silver.

Hope you were successful in pulling more from that site!
Dave

 

[Ahab8]

Those items are incredible! That time in history is fascinating to me. Hope you find more

 

[Brian C.]

Nice finds for sure.