Thoughts on a dovetail

[Older The Better]

Was poking around the local museum and saw this, it seems too good to be true but at the same time for some reason I kinda believe the little note about it. Curious what others thought… it is important to note there are some grey ghosts, some other pieces that all have a motor oil patina on them, and some “ceremonial” pieces but also plenty of legitimate points. What do you guys think? a real nice dovetail or a fantasy piece with a made up provenance?

 

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[Rockdog]

Was poking around the local museum and saw this, it seems too good to be true but at the same time for some reason I kinda believe the little note about it. Curious what others thought… it is important to note there are some grey ghosts, some other pieces that all have a motor oil patina on them, and some “ceremonial” pieces but also plenty of legitimate points. What do you guys think? a real nice dovetail or a fantasy piece with a made up provenance?
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It looks legit to me. Beautiful piece. If it's a Repro then it's a darn good one.

 

[CreekSide]

Slab cut imo

 

[antmike915]

Looks like a reproduction,. It might just be me but if it's authentic I wouldn't have wire around the base or tip. A good frame wouldn't need it.

 

[Rockdog]

Looks like a reproduction,. It might just be me but if it's authentic I wouldn't have wire around the base or tip. A good frame wouldn't need it.

I don't know. I see that alot of times in museum displays. A lot of the people setting up these displays in little locat museums are volunteers and not especially professionals.

 

[CreekSide]

Grey Ghost or Rhinheart comes to mind still very collectible but they both were masters at slab cutting large points from the 50s and 60s if I remember correctly

 

[Older The Better]

It’s definitely just a small museum run by volunteers, they put a lot of the points up in the frames they were donated in, I think they take a lot of peoples word for what they donate, I didn’t feel like pointing out all the mistakes but there was one gun labeled flintlock and it was clearly a percussion… even if it was a converted gun I don’t think I’d still call it a flintlock… then there was the “dinosaur egg” and “fossilized buffalo dung” that were just rocks. A Scottsbluff that was clearly a woodland dart…. As far as the grey ghosts there was a frame with three, and one with one extra fancy one, I always assumed grey ghosts were all the same material but I’ve never actually looked that close. this dovetail is made of a different material and it’s correct material for a local find so it has that going for it but it’s just so nice it’s hard to believe it was found on a river by a pipe crew.

 

[ToddsPoint]

The base doesn’t look like the dovetails we find in IL. I’m skeptical and wouldn’t buy it without putting in under a stereo microscope.

 

[newnan man]

That's a tough one. The story sounds good but it does look like a repo. Hard to tell from a pic.

 

[dognose]

I agree with rockdog and others that it appears to be a grey ghost and some smaller museums do not have the knowledge to determine authentic from reproduction.

often there establishments take the on face value the story of a neighbor they have known for years. sometimes the story starts innocently enough, but over time and inheritance the story is convoluted until all trace of accuracy is lost. it's not intended, it's just human nature and memory.


case in point in a small local museum at the falls of Pendleton in Pendleton Indiana a single case of artifacts are displayed among a large collection of early pioneer items. most in the display are very nice. among these are a frame of small obsidian points clearly. not from here. yet the card indicates such. as someone who has walked many fields in the area for over 40 years I have not found a single point or flake of obsidian. when I brought this to the curators attention the story was they were found there and that's the way it is.
bummer.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Hard to say without seeing other side and the edges. I lived in Missouri for about 19 years, seen a lot of beautiful Dovetails/St.Charles.

 

[newnan man]

There is a museum in Cocoa that is small but has some interesting items. I haven't been there in a few years but it had a display of points gifted to it by an individual. All fakes, glaringly so. They deal mostly with fossils & it's all voluntary help. So I'm sure most people see it & think they are real.