Small arrowhead collection at the thrift store

tamrock

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Jan 16, 2013
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I just picked this up this morning at my local ARC thrift store. At first I thought it was a display of replication arrowheads, but after a bit of examination, I do believe they are genuine artifacts. They're not the typical type of artifacts and materials genuinely found in the mountain states imo. My best guess is they'd be more of what you'd find around the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys. The frame they're mounted in looks rather old and what you might use 50, plus years ago, but that could just be someone used an old frame to mount these arrowheads in. Do you think these are genuine artifacts or are they more recent replications. If you do believe they are the real McCoys where and
what area of the US would these most likely have been found?
 

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Upvote 12
I agree with Relicgrubber. I think you're good to go. If you got them for $12.99 you got a really good deal too.
Yeah I didn't hesitate paying the price after looking it over some. It's fun to hit these high volume thrift stores often around here, because some amazing things do get donated. So many anymore don't take a 2nd look at what it is they've basically decided to just get rid of. It can be anything from rare and valuable to the unusual. I got this Buffalo mount years back at one of the big thrift stores. My oldest daughter wanted it and it's now mounted above her staircase of her house. I only gave $36. and change for it and my wife said no-way it's gonna hang on any of her walls.
 

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I agree they look authentic.
good deal
Any idea to what possible state these may have been found. I have a strong hunch they were all found by someone years ago within a close proximity of each other. Also whoever put it together considered them as their better examples. They could've all been found on the same farm. I don't have much experience hunting dirt fields and muddy creeks. I've done most my hunting in the rocky dry landscape of the mountain states and some in the basin & range country of Nevada and Utah.
 

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I'd rule out Ohio & Kentucky mostly because of the material. They do look Midwestern. The corner notched points could be Kirk's, Wade's, or just what some people call Archaic barbed or corner notch. Some of the stemmed ones are anyone's guess, but the top left in the 1st & 3rd frame I'd call an Adena. Good buy for 12 bucks for sure.
 

I agree that it would appear that they may have been found in the same area judging by the material simularity. The bottom left has an interesting bifrocated base. It looks to me like possibly an Baker or an Elko. But I can't be sure. Wish we knew where they were found but not much chance of that. Good find.
 

I agree that it would appear that they may have been found in the same area judging by the material simularity. The bottom left has an interesting bifrocated base. It looks to me like possibly an Baker or an Elko. But I can't be sure. Wish we knew where they were found but not much chance of that. Good find.
I know it's something that'll be hard to say for sure where they may have been found outside of whoever it was that actually did find them. They're probably not around anymore.
 

You should be able to double your $ on those. To the right buyer or eBay. To me they look like material from Iowa or in that side of the USA they don’t look like anything I’ve seen in the south. Good score
Iowa was my thought also, based on the type of materials used in the artifacts my cousin has collected. He lives on the shore of Red rocks Reservoir. He found quite a few pieces searching that area and we look them over when I visit him. I'm not gonna sell it, but instead hang it on my wall in a room I turned into an office downstairs.
 

Materials are definitely different than we find in central IL. Other than the white ones being Burlington possibly, none of the others are distinctive types I recognize.
Huh, I was thinking you'd say most would be typical to the area you find them. Indeed the white material is a common material I believe is found along the upper Mississippi and it's tributaries.
 

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This is a good example of why labeling artifacts is important. Just a note on the back of this display would have made it much more meaningful. With provenance, any artifact is a lot more interesting and useful. But it's still a great collection and good that you have rescued it.
 

This is a good example of why labeling artifacts is important. Just a note on the back of this display would have made it much more meaningful. With provenance, any artifact is a lot more interesting and useful. But it's still a great collection and good that you have rescued it.
I agree. I've labeled many of the ones I've found. Not individually, but put in containers that state the areas they were found.
 

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