I have enjoyed studying, researching, surface finding, purchasing and trading
prehistoric and historic North American Artifacts for the past 60 years.
It has been an enjoyable journey for me. Early in my youth I saw many faked
and reproduced artifacts as well as contemporary rechipping and reworking
of authentic artifacts. I have said for at least the past 50 years that
such activity is the scourge of our great quest for genuine artifacts. I
have actively strived to rid this problem from our society shows by simply
asking people who have blatant fake or reproduced artifacts to (1) please
remove them from your table (with explanation why); (2) please remove them
from your table (with explanation why), with another person and opinion with
me; and finally if they still have it on their table, (3) please pack up
and do not come back with another two people and opinions with me. Frankly,
I can say for my part, I do not believe it has reached #3 at the Indiana
shows…yet!
As long as I can remember people have said, if you are going to collect
artifacts over the long term, you will pay for your education in one way
or another and they were correct. I will use myself as an example; In the
late 1970s I took a grouping of arrowheads I purchased over a 10-year period
that were deemed as fakes and threw them in Lake Michigan while on a fishing
trip. I think anyone who has collected anything over a period of time will
have their own horror stories to tell.
I have long wanted to write my thoughts on this problem in our passion and
quest for the prehistoric and historic artifacts. This is not a new problem.
Fakes, and unmarked, undetected restorations of genuine prehistoric and
historic artifacts have been around since these items have had value. I believe
the first fakes I ever heard of were the Guffey Birdstones of the 1920s.
Reproductions, copies or newly knapped stone artifacts are fine in their
place. They represent a talent that few possess in making beautiful reproductions
of prehistoric or historic artifacts. I personally know of five people who
collect only newly knapped flint and have a collection of newly made reproduction
birdstones and axes. In the 1970s I knew of a retailer who sold these reproductions,
and he sold them as such, not as genuine artifacts. He actually employed
two Native Americans in southern Colorado to make these items. People who
purchase these items collect them for the beauty and artistry. One fellow
told me a few years ago that he only purchases these contemporary creations
as he cannot afford the genuine article. That is Okay. Each to their own
I say.
Part of a major problem in collecting genuine artifacts comes from those
who willfully create or purchase these contemporarily made items and then
turn them into fakes or artificially aged and worked copies of genuine prehistoric
or historic artifacts. Their motive is money and greed, and they profit from
their deception by selling these contemporary artifacts as genuine old pieces.
They are not producing reproductions; they are producing fakes and forgeries
of prehistoric or historic items for the sake of money. These people go to
great lengths in their creations by faking patina and wear or erasing modern
tooling marks, etcetera. Anything to make the contemporary look prehistoric
or old.
Another part of the problem exists with the ethics of the hobby. Hundreds
of so called “artifact authenticators” charging fees to authenticate
artifacts from either new collectors who do not know much about what they
are purchasing or seasoned collectors who are looking to grade, value or
sell artifacts they have questions about. They simply want another opinion.
This opinion is just that - the so called “authenticator’s” opinion.
Out of over 100 plus so-called authenticators out there, there are only a
handful I would recommend to anyone and two of them do not advertise themselves
as authenticators; they are friends who are seasoned collectors and also
deal in artifacts. Out of this handful, each has their specialties in the
different genres of artifacts and if they are asked to render an opinion
on artifacts they are not familiar with, they simply will not render an opinion.
I and the rest of the knowledgeable artifact community out there know of
at least three so-called authenticators who will literally authenticate
anything that crosses their desk as genuine. One has to ask ...
Read the complete "Problem Solving in Collecting: Contemporary vs. Ancient" column
in the Central States Archaeological Societies 2022
April Journal which can be purchased on-line after March 2022
