Help with identifying/advice

[aecks21]

Hi there,

I am new to these forums and had some questions surrounding authenticity and where to buy safely.

I grew up in Nebraska and my grandparents had farms in Iowa/Minnesota. The below pictures are stuff they pulled out of their fields that were handed down to me. I assume they’re authentic but who knows. Recently, I have been wanting to get into collecting because I love these pieces so much.

The 4th picture is one that I recently purchased on eBay. It looked really nice. The seller claims it came from Bristol TN near the Holston river. He said it’s been in his collection for a long time. It looked really nice and clean to me so I purchased it but I don’t know if it’s too nice and clean, if that makes sense lol. Any idea if this is a replica or looks legit? If it’s not authentic I guess I learned a lesson.

Also, is there a safe place to purchase from? I assume there is tons of fake stuff floating on eBay. Difficult for me to know as a newer collector what’s safe.

I appreciate any responses!

 

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[Tdog]

pic1 - full grooved axe,
pic2 - ?? possibly natural ??,
pic3 - maul,
pic4 - full grooved axe.

As far as authenticity, I'm far from an expert but the axe in pic4 looks questionable to me.

 

[unclemac]

yeah, stay away from "wow" pieces on ebay, they are pretty much all fakes.

 

[aecks21]

pic1 - full grooved axe,
pic2 - ?? possibly natural ??,
pic3 - maul,
pic4 - full grooved axe.

As far as authenticity, I'm far from an expert but the axe in pic4 looks questionable to me.

Yeaaaah… I saw that one and thought, wow that looks so cool. Then pulled out mine and started questioning it 😂

 

[unclemac]

see how "perfect" it is?

 

[aecks21]

see how "perfect" it is?

Yeah, it definitely looks too good to be true so I would assume it is 😟

 

[newnan man]

A few sellers on ebay are legit but they suffer from all the fakers. That 4th pic looks suspect.

 

[Buckleberry]

IMHO: 1) authentic, 2) natural stone wear 3) looks modern, stone that was pecked 4) artifake-see how flat the bottom of the groove is, just like a grinding wheel would make it.

 

[unclemac]

and look for variation in the patina too, often the pecked out groove will have a different look than the rest of the piece, or consider that if it has been in the ground (or on the surface) for hundreds of years, the patina will not be even all over the piece.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

IMO 1 is authentic, 2 is natural, 3 looks like it was recently pecked and 4 is a fake, looks like it was made with electric grinding tools.

 

[dognose]

I agree with the above comments.

Be very wary of ebay sellers.

There are a number of clubs or societies in the US.

Check out Central States Archaeological Societies, The Archaeological Society of Ohio or others in your area. Try to attend some shows. You can join most of them without living in the state and you can learn a lot about artifacts.

Pick up some good reference material about relics in your area. Many of the relic show events have tables where great reference materials, some used, some new, can be found at good prices.

 

[pickaway]

www.prehistoricartifacts.com
Also click the artifacts link on his page will pull up different sellers

 

[dirstscratcher]

I agree with others about #4 being fake. but I also think the maul is legit. The groove was pecked but not ground and polished, therefor the different look.

 

[Blackfoot58]

A few sellers on ebay are legit but they suffer from all the fakers. That 4th pic looks suspect.

I see rocks on websites that look nothing like artifacts. You can see NO sign of human intervention. Maybe ancient man used it as a paperweight LOL. But there is no scraping, pecking, flaking, etc. and they price them at hundreds of $$. I’m not clever enough to have all of the answers, but I sure have a lot of questions. Buyer Beware

 

[unclemac]

ebay is very entertaining.