Does anyone have a thought on who this may be? It’s alleged to be a Navajo piece–a sterling turtle pendant with pink rhodochrosite as the shell. I’ve had a few people say Tom Billy–but all the pieces of his that I’ve seen, are signed with his full last name. Thanks!
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@demji Hi & Welcome. Could you please post a photo of the front? Sometimes it’s helpful to see the entire piece. Also, just wondering if that could be the number “5” above the “B”.
@demji Thanks for the additional photo. I checked my Bille Hougart’s Native American and Southwestern Silver Hallmarks book. Unfortunately, I don’t see your hallmark listed. I saw Tom Billy’s hallmark but, it doesn’t match yours. I also checked an online source: https://www.amerindien.com, but didn’t see a match to your pendant’s hallmark. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.
Thank you for your efforts!
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@demji Just another thought… I haven’t used it, but others here have used Google Lens as a method to help identify hallmarks. You may want to give that a try.
Thank you! I actually tried Lens prior to posting here, but came up with nothing helpful. Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’m also wondering if that’s an “S” or a “5” at the top of the “B.”
I’ve even tried searching for shops that may have used that marking. 'Again–nothing comes up. Perhaps this is a hallmark the artist used for awhile, and then abandoned… but this pendant doesn’t seem particularly old to me though – so that theory also puzzles me. Possibly it’s a bogus mark too–but again, why wouldn’t whoever did that, try to counterfit the mark of a known artist? This is a puzzle. 
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Maybe it’s not native made. And there are times we just never find the answer.
I’m not saying this is fake, but fake stuff often has hallmarks that are impossible to find. Copying an actual Native hallmark could get them into real hot water.
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It not being an actual native piece did cross my mind. 'Not too upset even if it isn’t. It was still worth it to me, at the price I paid for it. And possibly this is a genuine mark for a non-native artist too. As you say, it may be an eternal mystery.
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