✅ SOLVED Native American, Chinese?, old fish...

[HappyDay]

I was told this came with a group of Native-American relics (and was "indeed native-American"), however have not been able to identify it and uncertain of the claim. It is just over 2 7/8" long and just under 7/8" at tallest. Initially, myself and others thought it was stone, however it's composed of a heavier metal, however not heavy enough to be lead, not soft enough. The red color appears to be red paint, at first glance, but it may well only be patina on the surface. I can not make out what is engraved on the bottom. A few more seasoned dealers suggested perhaps was Chinese. I am stumped! Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[SkaBa]

Very nice fish.

 

[mojjax]

Does a magnet stick to it ? Cool piece !

 

[HappyDay]

Thanks for the interest. It's non-magnetic, does not have any silver content. It weighs 42.9 grams, and it's width (I forgot) is about 11/16" at widest. It stands on it's base to a tilt, so perhaps it was a 19thC Pier One Import-equivalent piece, tossed off of an early 20thC liveaboard, or dock from an old Florida waterfront plantation, hit the bottom for a while, then finally washed up on shore, exchanged hands, was buried in some back yard by a mid-century archaeologist aunt for her nieces and nephews to find and identify, then never discovered (the kids gave up after the dinosaur bone). Next resident of same home loves metal-detecting, dug it back up and sold it to an antique dealer, and finally this went into the hands of a person ultimately offering me a "fantastic" native-American provenance story. She did not have much to gain and her supposed deceased husband was part of the story, however occasionally descriptions from both treasure hunters and treasure sellers, are not always quite black and white.

 

[eyemustdigtreasure]

fantastic piece!
I'd have an archaeologist or some antique dealer or someone here on the Tnet might help.
Keep looking for answers......
So, its metal, huh? Its s stumper, for sure...!

 

[DCMatt]

Why does a native American relic have a Roman numeral II on it?

I'm guessing it is a vintage (early 20th C) fishing weight.

 

[HappyDay]

Why does a native American relic have a Roman numeral II on it?

I'm guessing it is a vintage (early 20th C) fishing weight.

Thank you! Not sure if those are roman numerals, they seem separated at at least one level. It's difficult to see with the build-up. An early fishing lure/weight makes sense because maybe the one hook or ring was attached to the extraction of material on the bottom, or maybe it was wrapped with the hook/line. The actual detail/style is what throws me off when considering even early 20th C. This is my opinion, so please continue to chime in. I am certainly not an expert and of course welcome input on this. Will probably see one at Walmart this week at check-out (new impulse good).

 

[HappyDay]

This turns out to be a Victorian era fish from a carnival game. Who woulda thunk it?

 

[HuntinDog]

Great find HappyDay
Could you tell us the sorce of your ID?

 

[Plug N Play]

Found two listed with the vertical mount, such as yours ... they were listed as fishing weights.
Don't know if that's accurate or not.
The carnival game set I found listed with horizontal mounts is similar, but not quite. Hmmmmm

 

[HappyDay]

Thank you. I honestly forget already; I look up so many different pieces. I know I saw multiple separate images of them, with and without rings on the end for catching. They were utilized in one of those catch a fish for a prize games, and often had numbers or letters on them, like this one. They are fairly worthless monetarily, however I appreciate the fish-cool piece of history.

 

[HappyDay]

I never saw those images. Perhaps I am incorrect and the others as well. It does make me wonder why they would make fish-shaped weights if your goal is to get them on the hooks, however maybe bare hooks, long-lining? Hmmmm.

 

[HappyDay]

Or maybe they used the for both? I also just recalled that I saw a collection of them just like mine, but with all different letters or numbers on them.