Hello! I just purchased my first concho belt but my husband feels that it’s not authentic native american. Main Concho says sterling and they do feel and look like sterling but he says it’s not native. I’m extremely nervous that I paid for a fake. If anyone can give me feed back, I would greatly appreciate it!! Please help!!
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IMHO, the pieces look to be 2-part die struck (silver placed between two die and either hammered or placed under high pressure to achieve the design the same as coins. And the belt does look NA. That being said, some dies were hand- made and some suppliers used to sell the die sets so technically anyone could have created the pieces. Now I’ll wait for @mmrogers input to see how close I am.
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Wow! Thanks for the feedback. Does that mean the pieces are NA? My thought was Navajo but my husband continues to torture me. 
I really appreciate the help!
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Can see why you think it looks die struck, Steve. Placement of the stamps is absolutely consistent from one concha to the next, down to a small area about 10:00, where the triangle stamps bordering the radial line work are ever so slightly out of alignment. Can only see two belt conchas clearly, so can’t tell if this tiny anomaly is repeated across all concha’s.
Looks hand stamped to me, but it’s quite possible a single concha was used as a master from which all the conchas with the exception of the buckle were cast. If so a separate master and mold would have been used for the buckle.
Would be helpful to see a good photo of three or more of the belt conchas together. If all exactly the same it’s likely lost wax cast from hand made masters. If there are small differences, far more likely completely individually hand made.
Either way the work in it is as beautiful and professional as you’re likely to see.
ETA: The metal on the back of the buckle has some porosity which is pretty typical of what you’d expect to see on castings, but that could also be a bit of transfer from a work surface.
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My gut feeling was Navajo one way or another. If not die struck than by a gifted hand as @mmrogers stated. I would go with @mmrogers evaluation of the belt as he has proven to be one of the most knowledgeable on the subject. Time to go crow hunting for your husband 
. Congrats on a nice purchase.
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You guys are awesome!! I have attached more pics, maybe this can help. Getting my crow hat ready to jump around the house! 
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Thank you so much!! 
:black_large_square:
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Just for fun, I overlaid two of the conchas in Photoshop with the top layer 58% transparent to see if I could get them to match up. Rotated the overlays both directions and compensated for distortion in the images, but still no match. The conchas I compared look like they were made independently of one another. So either the conchas were cast from several independently made handmade masters, or the conchas are simply handmade. I suspect the latter.
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That’s absolutely great news!!! Crowing up a storm tonight. What do you think this belt is worth? I will feel even better if I didn’t overpay. Is there anyway I can repay you for all your feedback? So kind of you to offer your expertise in this field. 
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In this market a fair retail range from about $1,800 or $1900 at the low end to somewhere north of $2500 would be fair. Bear in mind though that in general the market is very soft, and occasionally you can pick up items like this at a fraction of the retail value one would expect to pay in a higher end store or gallery. It also depends on whether the item is actually completely hand fabricated, or cast (about 1/3 or more discount right off the top), and if the craftsperson is known . Lots of potential variables.
Santa Fe is beautiful at this time of year. How about some photos?
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You’re making my night! I can’t thank you enough! Yes, it’s beautiful here and I won’t even dare thinking of moving anywhere else. The least I can do is send you some pics of this beautiful city! Thank you so much for all your feedback!
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Oh, I want to go back, now!! I love NM.
Welcome to the site, and great belt!
Edit: I just saw the moon peeking out behind the steeple.
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Glad you enjoyed them—- Thank you!!
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So happy I found this site. I’m a newbie collector and everyone is making me feel so welcomed. Thank you!!
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Hey @LouFlynn , now you have to share with us how much they were asking for the belt . Helps as a barometer for the market.
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Didn’t see a signature on the belt @LouFlynn, but the work looks like it might be Patrick and Anita Ohlinger, really fine silversmiths and designers from Taos NM who worked in old Navajo revival style. Patrick and Anita were friends, and colleagues, and I really can’t say enough about the quality, and integrity of their work. It was always outstanding. I bought a really cool concha belt from them back in the 90s for my Wife. I’ll see if can find it and will post a photo or two.
Sadly, Patrick passed in 2021. I believe Anita is still living up in Taos.
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Well, that’s a good question and one of the reasons my husband was very suspicious of the belt. I got the belt for from someone who didn’t collect any indigenous jewelry, I guess it was inherited and he didn’t seem to care for it. I paid $480 and took a bet on it because he didn’t know much about it. But the quality and the weight of the belt was 14.2 oz. I thought it was a risk worth taking while my husband sounded like charlie browns teacher in the background. 
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That’s great information, I will try to
research their work for comparison. I’m so happy with this belt and just can’t wait to wear it. I’ve been walking around in my PJ’s with it on! lol!! Thanks again for all your help. I have a bracelet that I purchased over a year ago that no one locally or even at shows has been able to recognize. I love it so much that I really don’t care if it’s NA or not but it’s super unique. I will post it later tonight so we have another topic to discuss. 
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@LouFlynn I honestly don’t know much about concha/concho belts but, I recognize a sweet deal when I see one. IMHO, that was an excellent price for such a beauty of a belt. (I’d wear it over my PJs, too 
.)
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