Documentation of Fur Trade Artifacts--Please!

I've been collecting fur trade artifacts for some 17 or 18 years now, both found and purchased, and what I'd like to do is to make a plea of sorts to my fellow metal detector friends.  For years I've tried to get sellers of these artifacts to document their finds, particularly on ebay.  Some will do it at request and others will not reply.  But here is the rub.  Virtually every fur trade artifact type has been reproduced somewhere for reenactors & can be made to look nearly as old as the originals by artificial means.  As much as 90% of the tomahawks I see on ebay in a given week are fakes & many buyers are extremely wary.  So what I am asking is for all you great metal detector people out there who are salvaging this history before it turns to dust to do is simply write down where it generally came from, when, and by who and then sign it.  You can tie it to a shipping tag to the item or on a separate piece of paper.  We dont' need a map that says X marks the spot.

Why should we do that?  Because these items are not going to go to one buyer for all of eternity.  Eventually that buyer (or their next of kin) will want to resell  the item and the history will be lost, forgotton or not believed.     Also your item then becomes immedicately worth more to the buying community because it has that documentation going with it.   That piece of documentation becomes a part if that items history & goes wherever it goes.  Collectors call that 'provenance'.  You will have more bidders in an auction because they will be more confident they are not being taken.  Rust can be duplicated & accelerated.  

All this can only help the treasure hunting community while they are under fire from those in politics who want to make all treasure hunting illegal if we are seen more as protecting history rather than LOOTING it!  Many ebay sellers do not even mention in their auctions that these items were dug, or when or where so printing the auction web page wouldn't help at all.  It only takes a minute to write down these things but once that history of the item is lost --it is lost forever to us all!

Yes documentation can be faked too, but con-artists won't want to sign a paper indicating authenticity when they could be held legally accountable.  Regardless, it is the history we should all want to salvage and your finds are now part of that history.

Anyway, hope I don't sound too preachy & I hope you will all consider this or at least discuss it.

Mark

Thank you for writing this post. I have been documenting my fur trade artifacts ever since I first started searching for them. I spend countless hours preserving iron and always keep everything together from each site.  I plan to display what I have in the future and believe it is my duty to do so. Governments are cutting back funding towards history and the museum we have isn't changing their displays. I believe it is my duty to bring history to the people. I will not have any co-operation from the Archies as they see what I do as illegal. I don't see that they have too many options right now without funding and if they think I'm going to let things rot in the ground or remain in a box in the basement of a warehouse then they better think again. People have a right to see their history and that is where the Archies have failed. It's time for a responsible crowd of collectors (metal detectorist or surface hunters) to pave the way in bringing history alive to the people.

I agree, PLEASE document your finds. If you don't want to do tons of paperwork or GPS plotting, then at least keep everything from one site in the same box and mark site location on the box. Any written documentation you can add to the box is beneficial. I don't recommend throwing all the iron in a box and letting sit for twenty years as you will find a pile of dust when you open it.

I don't want to be preachy either, I just feel fur trade artifacts are pretty important historical materials and should be preserved and documented. The information adds value to your find, so it is not a waste of time.
Thanks Mark for this post and I agree with you.
Dave.

P.S. Don't worry about the amount of replies. The Fur Trade section doesn't see a lot of action compared to some other sections of this forum.

Thanks Dave, I guess thats 2 of us that agree at least & I'm sure there must be another out there somewhere that documents their finds.  I'll bet if I had titled this thread MORE TRADE SILVER FOUND! there would be a throng of people reading it & giving the thumbs up.  Makes me think maybe we should just take pictures of a pile of cash on the counter of the pawn shop & drool over that.     By the way, I really enjoyed looking at your fur trade artifacts you found recently.  I don't get out as much anymore but I sure do like to live vicariously through guys like you!  Manitoba must be a great location for hunting.   After having been to a lot of museums and collectors houses over the years, I really think it is the private collectors that have the lion's share of fur trade artifacts.  It would be nice to know it was in thoughtful hands regardless.  Well, I'm going to an Indian site tomorrow so wish me luck.

cheers,
Mark

I also agree with you, Mark, & have provenance (site numbers, etc.) for my artifacts.
I show displays to the public several times a year & also give programs at various symposiums etc. ( including Native Americans ).
Wish more collectors would do this!
I believe this is the best way to educate the public....but also believe showing what I find on this Forum is part of it!
Dale

I also agree with you, Mark, & have provenance (site numbers, etc.) for my artifacts.
I show displays to the public several times a year & also give programs at various symposiums etc. ( including Native Americans ).
Wish more collectors would do this!
I believe this is the best way to educate the public....but also believe showing what I find on this Forum is part of it!
Dale

Hi Dale,
Glad to hear it!  BTW really enjoyed looking at your finds as well.  Very much appreciated here.  Educating the public was one of the reasons I started my own websites of fur trade artifacts.  I hope I didn't give anyone the impression I am against people displaying their finds because that is one of the main reasons I joined this forum was to see them!  I guess I'd like to see more in the forum about the history of the sites where these items were found or what the item was used for or how it was used rather than just a picture of an artifact.  I know you do more than that.  I understand completely the excitement of the find & appreciate the encouragement others provide.  Its just that I see the excitement of the history being forgotten in many posts (not just fur trade catagory).  Some of us are in it for the history and some are in it for the money.  I'd just like to try to convert a few of the latter if I can.

I couldn't agree more with the thoughts in this thread.

I would have to agree as well.  It's just common sense to document what, where, and as much information about a area as possible.  Everything I find I keep together and write in my journal about the days finds

Good advice for sure,
I only get to hunt my fur trade sites a few times a year as I live 5 hours away. Have found something to add to my collection every time I visit and as a history teacher I always use my finds in my social classes to bring my classes to life. I have only sold a few duplicates and every time Its to a collector that is a good friend. I record the item, and tag it as to the provenance and in my own collection keep things in order and together, as we are only temporary custodians of this great part of our past. I also make maps and use gps .

Thanks to all of you who have responded.  Its good to know that there are dilligent collectors who understand we really are just custodians until the next generation inherits it.  I hope we can keep encouraging others to do this as well.  Many fur trade artifacts are really not well understood as to why they had certain features, trademarks, charactersitics, trading patterns, & they need to be studied.   Someday all that tedious recording we do will hopefully make some researcher VERY happy indeed & the results will be our legacy.

Good Suggestions Mark! thanks for stepping up to the plate.
Best Regards
Robert
1coolshop

Excellent post! It is great when we find artifacts, and brings much excitement to the finder. However, we need to document and preserve the items the best we can so in the future they can be studied/shared with the younger generations. I know in our area the schools do not focus on local history, which is such a shame as there is an abundance of it (just think how if we shared our finds with the children how much more interesting history would be to them).

Dave if you wouldn't mind sharing you technique for preserving iron, it would be appreciate.

Happy New Year all!

Here, here... one of my pet peeves.  I hear all this "saving history" stuff, but unless people put a story to it, it's just a commodity and NOT history.  I love seeing the CW recoveries on this site, but no one puts any historical context on their finds.  Hell, I'm just interested in what battle they are connected to... but usually that is asking too much.

Moderator Comment

I have removed a couple posts and I do want to remind folks that TreasureNet is not the place to air personal problems.

I live in a area where the Fur trade and the HBC were very active.
Vancouver Washington.
You never know where these things are going to be found around here.
When you live about a mile from Fort vancouver.
Glad i found this Forum.