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Unknown Artifact


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WOW, That's a tough one. Pretty neat find, But this one leaves me guessing with the combination of materials. Sorry I do not have a clue.

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Does the back of it have a notch on the bottom of it? It will look like a V to hold a string in place.

If it does it is probably a plumb line for an old surveyors unit.

Saw one similar on the net and now I can't find the page it was on.

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It has the look of some sort of projectile, maybe for a small crossbow or pistol. You could try a reverse image search on Google. I might do it later.

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Question (and please don't be insulted):  how do you know it is bone or ivory?

Given where you found it, seems like one possibility is some kind of toy dart or game piece.  I've found a few cheapo/modern versions of those in the parks I hunt (and in my back yard near the fence where neighbor kids play).  The ones I'm refering to are some kind of foam rubber body and the tip is just a flat disk (not sure of what metal the tip is).

Yours looks high end compared to the throw-aways I'm referring to.  Body has the look of catalin -- an early 20th Century thermoplastic that could be colored.  It looks like the non-colored variety; often catalin is confused with bakelite which is similar but dark brown/black.  Catalin tends to be prized as jewelry and as other decorative objects.  Patina matters.

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GB

No offense taken at all.

Not certain of material.  Looking through jewelers loop, slightly porous, some hairline fractures near tip.  Feels heavy and dense.  
 

I did write on piece of white paper with legible results.  Tip looks like lead bullet with 2 grooves.

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From the second photo group, the lead part and shaft appear to be oval. Just making a guess here, but it resembles a writing instrument or perhaps a cutting, carving, or light chiseling instrument. The slit on the lead tip may have held an ink well scribing tip or possibly a small blade. It may even have held a needle for making tribal style tattoos by hand. If it was very old, I would expect the lead to be more of a white color. It's a puzzler. Cool find, though.

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