FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE AACA 5

Greetings Members,

The second issue of the Newsletter is again a great source of pride. The staff and contributors reflect the high quality

of the Association’s membership. We share a wonderful hobby with some really great folks.

The primary goal of the AACA, of course, is to promote integrity, and a high ethical standard in the collecting and

commercial intercourse of authentic, legally obtained artifacts. We have, and will continue to set standards to achieve those ends. But as I reflect on those goals and objectives, and how to improve the Association’s effectiveness, it occurs to me

that we, as members, must be held to higher standards than those around us. We all, and rightly so, bemoan the tactics and outright fraud of those who oppose us. Their tactics are shady, unethical, and in many instances, actually violations of the law. We must be careful, however, not to let our zeal in exposing and defeating them cause us to stoop to their level.

We all have access to the various public forums. Keep in mind that every thing you utter on them is a matter of public record. You may be asked, someday, to defend your comments so made. Keep your comments positive, truthful, and above reproach.

Secondly, there are those that contact bidders on the various internet auction sites for the purpose of exposing a fraudulent listing. Seems noble and innocent enough, but more than just an infraction of the auction site’s rules, it is an actual violation of the law. The AACA can never condone such activity.

Now, you might ask, “If I can’t do those things, then just how can I fight fraud”? The best way is to be ethical in all you do, obey all rules, support the AACA and help it grow. When the size of the membership is great enough to reach “critical mass”, we can effect changes with the internet auction sites, demanding they police themselves. We then, cannot, and will not be ignored.---Keep up the good fight.

Cliff Clements

President, AACA

A problem has confronted novice collectors and investors during the past five years. I reported in 1998 that by the year 2001, virtually all medium to high end artifacts would be expected to have “Certificates of Authenticity” from respected and creditable authenticators. And so it is.

But this fostered another problem. That was the upstart of many unqualified “authenticators” of dubious credibility. Of course, excluded from this category are the many credible regional authenticators who serve the collector/investor community.

Another obvious problem is the consternation by the collector. Often, they cannot make a valid decision whether an artifact is in fact real, genuine or ancient. So a tendency is to rely on the “authenticity” of artifacts only accompanied by COA’s. This is unfortunate because many real and genuine artifacts will never see a COA. Because many experienced collectors don’t require one.

Another problem. Sometime the opportunity to make money will overtake integrity. It is a fact that no living authenticator is expert on artifacts, from all areas. Some refuse to admit that “they don’t know all artifacts or all materials” How often have your heard an authenticator advise they did not know? Perhaps, it is not so appealing to refund money, or refer the owner to another more knowledgeable competitor

Unfortunately, a substantial number of “papers” in the marketplace do convey falsehoods; some “kill” authentic artifacts, while others support the authenticity of obviously “fake” reproductions! Are these conclusions supported by incontrovertible evidence? You bet. As I write, we are photographing questionable COA’s with the particular artifact overlaying the document and listing the reasons why. This might prove quite handy in the future.

My best advice to collectors and investors is “buy the artifact, not the paper”. Study written documentation on various types of artifacts in which you are interested. Seek help from experienced collectors who specialize in the same types as you like. In any kind of collecting, nothing beats experience. Try to acquire artifacts with a credible documented history of 20 years or more. This may be the best and safest way to collect. If the artifact has a COA, it will probably say: “this opinion is based on the best of the signer’s knowledge and experience to date”. Now ask yourself, will that opinion stand tomorrow? Maybe, maybe not.

Learn about the previous owners. Ask good questions. And always “take a second look” at the artifact itself. If you and others are then convinced the artifact is authentic without question, consider adding it to your collection. Take care and travel cautiously. And thanks for listening.

More Adventures in Arrowheading

Ken Schmidt, May 03

This as near as I can get to a true story… It’s actually pretty accurate with maybe a little poetic license.

Anyway – here’s my tale…

I'd never seen a prairie chicken so excited. Sure, it was breeding season, and his neck looked like he'd been eating softballs that got stuck somewhere half down his craw, but even so, all the strutting and posturing seemed a bit overdone. Now ordinarily a sage hen will back down when a human moves into his territory, but not this cocky feller. Ruffled up like a Broadway actor, dragging his wings on the sparse grass of central Montana, and making a racket. Whooomph whooomph whooomph.

I had a walking stick as my defense - I circled him cautiously, thinking I could probably entice him to attack, therefore being justified in dispatching him to protect myself and maybe secondarily obtaining supper. No such luck. He had laid claim to a single square yard of dirt and wasn't about to budge. I crept forward, stick in the ready position.

As I got closer, I noticed the centerpiece of his particular territory was what looked like a piece of glass. No - not glass, but obsidian. Worked obsidian. From a distance of 10 feet or so I could see a distinct notch on one edge.

The dilemma was now obvious. I could not, without violating game laws and my own ethics, dispatch the chicken unless he initiated hostilities. Likewise I could not retrieve what I envisioned to be a 3 inch G-8 Pelican Lake point unless the bird moved aside, which he clearly wasn't about to do. Obsession being the driving force behind valor, I elected to scare him off by casting pebbles. It would've worked but this bird eats softballs, so a few rocks in his gizzard were just snacks. I threw my boot at him, which didn't faze him in the slightest. Every time I tried to get closer, he'd huff and puff and looked like he meant to do me some serious damage. After a standoff of maybe a half hour, I had to admit defeat. Talk about being humiliated. A quick glance around to assure no witnesses were present, I made a less than graceful retreat.

It took some time to pull the prickly pear spines out of my foot once I made it to the truck, but I reckoned I'd find my boot later and what I'm now convinced is a 5 inch G-10 Pelican Lake. After that bird got his lady and moved on, of course.

ps - Having this experience last year, I did return recently to pick up my boot and the aforementioned point. The boot was gone, having been found of some interest by a passing coyote, I suppose. It was an old boot, after all. The point may still have been there, but so was the chicken. He's a lot bigger than last year.

What to look for in these questionable artifacts.

Several types of acid have been used to treat points over the years. The most common acid used would be a car battery type acid and sulfuric acid that the point itself has been dipped into. Long exposure will give the flint material a chalky look. Under water you can see the actual flint material, but once the point is dried the chalky look appears again. Another sign here are small pinholes on the material. This will occur after long exposure to the acid. Acid has the tendency to smooth the flaking to almost nothing. You will not be able to see any type of hinge fractures, etc. here. The true color and flaking can be viewed under water. This is the most common and easiest way to find and obvious concentration of chemical residue. The most common residue color on these points are generally browns and pinks. The effects of the colors are from the chemical and the flint material reaction to each other. You might ask, “What does all this do?” Chemicals will leave a very high and a natural fake patina look on the surface of the points.

You can always tell chemicals by a water test. It is a two-part test, once in lukewarm water, another in cold water. Every time the chemical will tell on itself by leaving a rainbow skim over the surface of the water. It doesn’t matter if the point was chemically treated in the last fifteen minutes or twenty years ago. This test always works. Chemically treated points will always leave some type of color or film residue, which can also be viewed by a microscope.

Acids are not the only type of chemicals used for faking modern knapped points. Some of the simplest things from motor oil to baked coffee grounds, and oak cedar barks. Each one of these processes are designed to accomplish three things:

1) To get a very fast result of fake patina on the surface of the point.

2) To fool the unsuspecting buyers.

3) To get past the Authenticators.

As the hobby grows the fakers will use more and different processes in order to try to perfect their trade. Why does this change the look of the surface of the point? The point itself contains its own natural chemicals. Any type of outside chemicals that are attractive to these chemicals will change the property of the look.

Motor oil, coffee grounds etc are actually baked onto the points. The key signs for motor oil would be a very high glossy black to honey-like oxidation Look on the surface of the point. Burnt cedar or oak bark is a process that was done fifty to sixty years ago, and still going on to this very day. With the point actually buried in the ground and the bark heated, the burning bark will give off a chemical. The chemical from the bark is the most natural chemical reaction. Under a microscope you will be able to view ash or smut under hinge fractures, stacks, etc. Also, another area is the flaking, notches, etc. Burnt bark will leave an ashy type smutted look. This possible indication would be better viewed under a microscope.

Spotting fake axes and hard stone tools: First lets go over some of the techniques and tools that are used here. Most of the old timers will use not electric grinders butt the old style hand crank table mounted grinders. Another tool here is a dremel, for final finish and polish along the surface or face of the tool. Different types of waxes and polishes are used to give off a high fake polish here. Fake gorgets, banner stones, and any type of hard stone artifact that were made with these processes will have these features. Also, on pendants and gorgets, look at the drill areas, especially if the hole on the gorget appears straight and cut in from one side. Look under a microscope for metal markings from the drill. Prehistoric drill areas will have an irregular look and usually cut from or drilled in from both sides of the artifacts, although some cultures have drilled from a single side. In either event the holes will be irregular without perfectly straight sides. Recent tally-marks: Under a microscope you will be able to view metal marking. Most of the fakers will use dirt, oils etc to try to hide the fresh made areas.

There are a few key signs to look for in these situations. Small cuts, circular buffing marks, also look for high and low areas. These areas will appear to be wavy. In these areas you will be able to view the wax/polish build up by using a microscope. Also, you may find metal shavings from the sanding and grinding of these fake artifacts. Chemicals have been used on these also.

Modern rechipped points are something we have all had our run in with. Most of the rechippers are very clever by using any an all means from chemically treating and even using paint markers and shoe polish to hide the look of fresh rechipping. The most common tools they use are nails and screwdrivers, etc. Look for an irregular beveling here. A lot of these guys will turn the base of a broken arrowheads into the tip, then camouflage the area in by the means of color markings etc. to try and give a natural darker color to the points in question. Under a microscope you can view these areas and see the metal markings. Only here will the flint tell on itself, By a visual look, the best places are around the tip and base of the rechipped point.

Title: Relics & Reproductions
Author: James R. Bennett
Pages: 352 - soft cover
Publisher: Homestead Publishing Co.

Having just finished Jim Bennett's new book titled "Relics & Reproductions"
I find myself impressed with the quality of the over 900 color photos, as
well as the insightful text.

Relics & Reproductions is the first book in a series of 5 or 6 books the
author is completing on identifying fakes and building a clean collection, a
topic which has not seen much press in the relic book world.

Starting with basic information on fakes for newer collectors and working
its way through advanced topics such as UV light and microscopic evaluation,
this book is a "must read" for collectors looking to cull through the fakes
for authentic artifacts.

I like the fact that Jim addressed more than just flint artifacts, including
stone and slate in his text and photos. Also the use of full color
microscope pictures makes it easy for the readr to understand what is being
discussed in the text.

I think this book will help all levels of collectors dedicated to the
collecting of authentic artifacts and I would strongly recommend it as a
"must read" to anyone serious about avoiding fakes.

The book is $28.95 + $3.00 postage and can be purchased at
http://www.oldrelics.com or by calling a 24/7 order hotline at
1-888-333-6096

July 2003 Membership Report

I am pleased to report that your AACA now has in excess of 1760 members now registered. We are still asking all members that have not updated their membership information, to do so by using the new form, http://www.theaaca.com/Join.html

This action will place you and your email address and website info onto the AACA Members Map, and it will also enter your name into a drawing where you will have a 1 in 100 chance at a FREE PASS to the PRE-SHOW PARTY being held on the first day of the EXPO on October 31 2003.

If your name is in Blue you will not need to update your information. If your Name is not currently on the Members’ map or your name is in black please update your information. http://www.theaaca.com/map/Map.html

This will insure your full involvement in AACA, and your name will be listed with all your fellow AACA members where we stand together against fraud and for the goals we set in collecting ancients.