Remember this?

[Thumper]

12294

(It's 4-3/8" long)

Well, after all my research, I decided it was most likely worth about $50, but there was an inkling of doubt because, although I'd found very similar items, I never really found a close enough match with a price attached to it. So, when in doubt, auction it! I threw it up on The Bay last Sunday night for a 7-day auction and it sold last night for $70. Ok, it brought 40% more than I thought it was worth, so I'm happy with it. Any way you look at it, it was a good 25-cent investment! :thumbsup

[Bwana]

:clap

[BarryBobPosthole]

Nice job!
BKB

[johnboy]

Since that is a true archeologically interesting piece of N.A. history, I thought it would be worth more than $70. Go figure.

[Thumper]

There's a LOT of this Copper Culture stuff out there and prices are all over the map from $20 - $650! I guess it all depends on the piece and these knives aren't all that super rare. After reading up on this stuff, it seems all you have to do is walk around the shores of the Great Lakes with a metal detector, in the copper region, and you're likely to find something. What hurt me a bit is I had no provenance whatsoever. I simply found it in a desk drawer (in FLORIDA) and assumed it's legit. Most of the pieces being sold note the exact area they were found in and how they were located. I found quite a few knife points in the $50 range and that's where I started my bidding. There were something like 18 people watching the auction, so I'd assume if it were worth a lot more, the bidding would have been a bit more aggressive. Oh well, it was fun and I learned a lot. That's half the enjoyment, I find something "different" and learn about something new while researching it. I've made a small fortune selling nasty, old razors, for example. Who'da thunk it? Frankly, I'd never heard of the Old Copper Complex Culture until someone here (Mr. Alba possibly?) suggested I look there to identify the piece. I read a ton about OCC ... very interesting history.