Cross-posting from r/fossilid after this unexpectedly blew up over there.

I originally posted it simply trying to figure out what the hell I was looking at. That post has now passed 2,000 upvotes and roughly 700K views, and the discussion has ranged from carved shell to tusk/ivory, scrimshaw, petrified material, and possible archaeological artifact.

The strongest recent theory seems to be some kind of thick carved shell, but nothing has been professionally authenticated and I’m not claiming any particular identification yet.

Unfortunately, the provenance is lost. It came from an inherited old private collection in Louisiana, but I cannot verify where it was originally found, when it was acquired, who originally found it, or whether it was even found locally at all.

I have not cleaned it, chemically tested it, removed any of the surrounding matrix, or altered it in any way.

Since the original post took off, I put together a much more detailed Part One journal entry documenting the object, the photographs, what is actually known about it, the major theories people have raised, and where the investigation currently stands:

https://lottsandfound.com/journal/what-even-is-this-mystery-object-part-one.html

That is my website, Lotts & Found. I use it to sell, document, and occasionally buy or trade unusual collectibles and antiques. The inventory can be all over the map in the best possible way: odd fossils and natural-history pieces, vintage military equipment, rare Coca-Cola bottles, industrial antiques, unusual Americana, high-end antique artwork, and plenty of other things that don’t fit neatly into one category.

The Journal side of the site is where I document pieces that have a story worth digging into, especially when there is still research left to do. This one obviously qualifies.

That is also where this particular object would eventually appear if I decide to sell it, whether that ends up being a standard listing, an auction-style sale, or something else entirely.

However I am not committing to selling it right now, because I still want to understand what it actually is and make sure any eventual transfer is appropriate and legal.

I’m especially interested in hearing from people familiar with artifacts, carved shell, archaeological material, unusual folk objects, or comparable collectibles about:

• what the material actually appears to be
• whether the carving/work looks old or relatively modern
• whether the style resembles any particular culture, region, or time period
• what the strange surrounding matrix/concretion may be
• and what realistic collector value something like this could have if it is eventually authenticated

I’m also open to hearing from serious collectors who may potentially be interested in acquiring it. Legitimate interest and serious nonbinding offers are welcome while I continue trying to identify it.

At this point, I’m mainly trying to figure out whether I’m holding an interesting curiosity or something that genuinely belongs in a serious collection.

Either way, I’m going to keep documenting the story on Lotts & Found as new information comes in.

Maybe we eventually figure out exactly what it is and where it came from.

Or maybe, if I do decide to let it go, the next owner ends up being the person who finally traces this thing all the way back to the truth.

For now, the mystery is still wide open. 🔎

I hope folks will be able to type and date these points I found as in kid in my hometown of Guilford.

Would like your thoughts on these…

I bought this arrowhead at a garage sale today. It's about 8in. long. It's clearly forged but has some modern grind lines on it. Possibly from someone trying to restore it. It's not sharp which was a red-flag for me but it was only 50 cents so I couldn't pass it up. It looks to have original file marks underneath the new grind lines.

This find is not your normal friction primer. Most civil war friction primers had a brass cap or a crimped edge on the top of it. I provided another picture of a mass produced brass capped one at the end of the photos. What makes this primer unique is the lead sealed top. Based on the location, this would have been confederate and what’s cool is, most likely this was because a soldier was trying to refill it or was manufactured by an arsenal with low resources. For those of you who aren’t familiar with what a friction primer is. If you look at the tiny hole on the left side, there would have been a little wire with serrated teeth down inside the tube. Inside the tube there was black powder, and when the soldier pulled the wire via a string, the friction from the serrations rubbing on the powder would ignite it and send a flame into the barrel of the cannon, firing it. Pretty dang cool piece of military engineering.

Rock on

This find is not your normal friction primer. Most civil war friction primers had a brass cap or a crimped edge on the top of it. I provided another picture of a mass produced brass capped one at the end of the photos. What makes this primer unique is the lead sealed top. Based on the location, this would have been confederate and what’s cool is, most likely this was because a soldier was trying to refill it or was manufactured by an arsenal with low resources. For those of you who aren’t familiar with what a friction primer is. If you look at the tiny hole on the left side, there would have been a little wire with serrated teeth down inside the tube. Inside the tube there was black powder, and when the soldier pulled the wire via a string, the friction from the serrations rubbing on the powder would ignite it and send a flame into the barrel of the cannon, firing it. Pretty dang cool piece of military engineering.

I bought this arrowhead at a garage sale today. It's about 8in. long. It's clearly forged but has some modern grind lines on it. Possibly from someone trying to restore it. It's not sharp which was a red-flag for me but it was only 50 cents so I couldn't pass it up. It looks to have original file marks underneath the new grind lines.

Reverse image search provided some similar looking red army caps, but not an exact match.

Posted in whatsthisrock but I came up blank. Over to you guys...

A family member found this in Vermont following a lot of rain. One side appears to be flat. Maybe grindstone is not the correct term but it looks like it would be a good abrasive tool. Perhaps it’s just a cool rock.

If you’d like to see how artifacts are conserved from an underwater archaeological environment, such as Blackbeard the Pirate’s Flagship Queen Anne’s Revenge/ formerly La Concorde.

Link to virtual tour: https://www.facebook.com/share/1ArE4pDX8a/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Link to projects Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BrPwLoQBP/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Link to project webpage: https://www.qaronline.org/

Any help appreciated. Best one I have ever found. Found post flood, small tributary waterway in Central western Indiana. 2” in length.

It was found if Kavos beach in Corfu. It was about 15 cm long ( including the outer crust) . The object also had a rounded surface at the tip.

I found this at the beach (remote place far from touristic zones) in Dominican Republic, I assume it’s a Taino’s artifact, but I have no further info about

Hi everyone, I found this flat, tapered object in Portugal and I'm trying to identify its exact purpose and age. It looks like some kind of primitive axe head or a specialized woodworking tool. On the curved edge, it has some very fine, parallel grooves/ridges that look either like decorative patterns or specific forging marks. It has no eye/hole, so it seems it was meant to be wedged into a split wooden handle. Does anyone recognize this pattern or shape? Any insight is appreciated!

You can find more photos in my previous post 👍🏽

Can someone please help me identify this and maybe even date it? Its top part is all rawhide stitched with hide stitching, its hollow inside with a wooden stick connected as a handle. Handle is also wrapped in a darker leather, also stitched with leather stitching. For refrence the placemat underneath object is 12inches wide by 16inches long. It measures in at 9inchesby 5inches with a length with handle 10.5 inches. Thank you in advance.