Artifact dealers turn to GOLD

lostlake88

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Dec 2, 2007
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I wonder through the arrowhead forums on the web. Arrowheads.com in particular. The drastic downturn of the economy has turned our good ole dealers into metal comodities dealers. 9 out of ten of these arftifact dealers want your gold and silver. You have to be a moron to even think twice about it. I WANT YOUR GOLD. Cracks me up. Indian relics was always a fragile market, glad I dumped most.
 

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I get numerous phone calls every week from people wanting to sell their collections, from various areas of the country. I don't generally buy, but I do try to put them in touch with people who could be interested. It is true that your "average" artifacts are not bringing what they brought years ago. Items that I gave $100 for 10 years ago are now selling for $25-$30. However, it's not the same for top-shelf artifacts. The finest pieces are still demanding a premium..and they're getting it. That's with flint anyways.

Pottery (and some perishables) are a different story, all of them are going up. Quapaw pots that I used to give $30 for all day long 15-20 years ago are now selling upwards of $300. I used to be able to pick up sack pots for $5 a whack but it seems you can't touch any of them for under $50 anymore. The finest ornate pots (especially effigy) are going up at dramatic rates. There is a huge demand for it, but there are only a select few people who can pay the mint for them. $50k is nothing for a top-tier vessel anymore and many can get realized prices of $100K+.

If you want to talk big bucks, you should see the historic Native American market - wow.
 

hopefully the ones you dumped were authentic.i wouldnt use the word dump around my points,lol.
 

Neanderthal said:
Pottery (and some perishables) are a different story, all of them are going up. Quapaw pots that I used to give $30 for all day long 15-20 years ago are now selling upwards of $300. I used to be able to pick up sack pots for $5 a whack but it seems you can't touch any of them for under $50 anymore. The finest ornate pots (especially effigy) are going up at dramatic rates. There is a huge demand for it, but there are only a select few people who can pay the mint for them. $50k is nothing for a top-tier vessel anymore and many can get realized prices of $100K+.

If you want to talk big bucks, you should see the historic Native American market - wow.

Obviously none of it is a renewable resource, but pottery holds more of an interest to everyday people who wish to have some accent pieces for their fancy homes.

I remember a simple 5 X 7 frame of shards in shops going for $5.00 not long ago, now the same frames are selling for $35.00. Just shards!

The fakes have made LOTS of people shy away from buying points these days, too many people have gotten burned as the fakers get better and better. Scammers everywhere in everything these days.
 

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