Fur Trapper Trade Silver

[Dr.Tones]

I found this at a site on an 1880's map along a very historic river made famous by the early fur trappers of the northwest. This stretch of the river is about 40 miles or so away from old Fort Boise (previously Hudson's Bay Co. Erected in 1834 but the area was in use since about 1813). The map showed a small cluster of cabins and also showed the last name of the homesteader. I traced the last name back to a fellow that was born in Missouri in 1804 and it also showed a marriage and homestead certificate of his son in Malheur County, OR circa 1860. Then it showed the birth certificates of his 7 children who occupied the property up until the late 20's before heading to California. The majority of the finds were definitely circa 1910-1925 but every now and then we popped an older trinket. I initially pocketed the item of question, realizing that it was hand made/engraved. When I got home I noticed that it could quite possibly be made of a less than pure silver. So I gave it a little baking soda rub and it immediately cleaned right up and showed that it was most definitely made of silver. I have a few scenarios that I keep pondering. 1: It was a Native American silver trade piece lost by fur trappers (or natives) long before the homesteaders occupied the location. 2: It's a Native American trade piece that was brought west by the original homesteader. 3: It's a random silver trinket that would have adorned some piece of turn of the century wardrobe and nothing more. The back is smooth with no indication of a fastener. If I had found it anywhere else, I would lean towards non-trade silver but because of where it was found, I'm hopeful it is indeed a rare piece of American history. Opinions are welcome. Thanks and happy hunting!

 

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[Gridwalker306]

Beautiful piece man, that's a special find for sure.

 

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[hunting deer]

Nice finds! You never know what will turn up. In your other picture I noticed the piece with the two guys in a canoe. It looked familiar and then I remembered finding the same one last year. That got me curious as to what they came off of. I added a link of one I found on ebay. Says its a collapsible cup lid. Early boy scout related? I thought it was interesting as I had found mine at an old site and wondered what it was. Not sure where mine is without hours of looking through coffee cans or I'd post a quick pic of mine! Vintage Collapsible Metal Cup Boyscout Scene on Lid Good Condition | eBay

 

[CASPER-2]

https://www.pinterest.com/awasos/trade-silver/
IF YOU GOOGLE - TRADE SILVER OR MORE TO THE POINT AMERICAN TRADE SILVER
OR FUR TRADE SILVER - YOU WILL GET RESULTS FOR A FEW BOOKS OUT THERE - YOU MIGHT WANT
TO TRY AND CONTACT SOME OF THOSE AUTHORS AND ASK FOR THEIR OPINION

 

[CASPER-2]

...ON A SIDE NOTE - BEWARE IF YOU ARE SEARCHING EBAY OR OTHER PEOPLE SELLING TRADE SILVER - ESPECIALLY CROSSES
IVE SEEN MANY FAKED ONES - GUYS WILL COPY SPANISH CROSS DESIGNS AND EVEN ADD RARE MAKERS MARKS - HAVE A FRIEND
THAT BOUGHT A FEW - THEY ARE REAL SILVER - LOOK COLONIAL BUT ARE FAKES

 

[Dr.Tones]

Thanks for all the info guys!

 

[DFW_THer]

Hey dude, great dig. Banner vote in.

Brad

 

[Ia.FurTrade]

Here's a few more pics if there's any experts that can chime in?? Thanks! Ia.FurTrade maybe?

Nice pictures! I'm quite sure it's Trade Silver..........typical arrow points & wheelwork you see on Montreal ( & others) stuff. The center part must have been broken out & I can't tell for sure how it was originally.
Pretty crudely made, but many were made by apprentices just learning the trade & hurrying to get as many made as possible. I would take that piece any day!!
Congrat's again on a GREAT find!

Iowa Dale

 

[Dr.Tones]

Thanks for the info Dale!

 

[Scrappy]

Excellent finds man! It must have felt nice to get smacked with a signal like that in the middle of nowhere.

 

[ARC]

Man that thing is THIN... thinner than I thought...

Sheesh tin foil is thicker. heh

Those new pics show this and the crack... man it looks like it is hanging together by a thread... be careful handling that sucker.
Perhaps sealing / binding it in something that it can be seen but not bent when handled etc.

Its a miracle that thing is still one piece IMO... arrrg. F_R_A_G_I_L_E.

Seeing these new pics makes me ponder my original assessment of this... its so thin I am now not so sure about as a jewelry / wearing piece...
perhaps more décor ? ? ?

 

[Dr.Tones]

It's definitely fragile due to the crack and I'll be sure to put it in a proper case to protect it. That picture is a little misleading though. It's thin, but not as thin as it's made out to be. It's actually quite rigid.

 

[seekerGH]

congrats on the finds.

NEVER use anything to rub an artifact. There are several threads here which show the ways to use aluminum foil and baking soda to boil off oxidation.

 

[eyemustdigtreasure]

Here's a few more pics if there's any experts that can chime in?? Thanks! Ia.FurTrade maybe?

VERY THIN! Hand-engraved, likely trade silver....yup!
Great Finds, lad!

 

[strick]

Really cool find...Just goes to show that research is the key...congrats!!

strick

 

[Deft Tones]

Perhaps a squaw would have worn it as a hair piece or part of a head dress?

Very cool and interesting artifact!

 

[Reelsnrods]

Those are some great finds and history diggin. Congrats on both!