Picked up what I now know is a Native American bolo tie at a yard sale yesterday for $7. I was combing for silver items and quickly misread the “patent” on the back as “sterling,” though I am not finding any mark indicating material. A cursory search shows these can have a lot of value, regardless of material, and that some even made of silver don’t necessarily have a stamp.
I can’t find an exact match to the front design or the maker’s mark. Any insight on the symbol, tribe, mark, material(s), and value is appreciated!
Looking at the back of the bolo in the top left corner there is what appears to be a W with a line under it. That would be the hallmark. Nice bolo by the way
"Here is a generally accepted timeline for dating a bolo based on what the clasp on the back looks like: From the invention of the bolo (whenever that was) until about the mid-1950s, there was no clasp. Bolo cord ran through a couple of loops on the back which held a little pressure on the cord to keep it in place. There were a couple of other variations during this time period, but no clasp yet. By the mid-1950s however, you begin to see the bolo tie clasp. As mentioned above, Cedarstaff patented one in 1954. The Bennett clasp which is marked, Bennett Pat. Pend. C-31, came onto the market about this same time. The “C-31” clasp was used from the mid-1950s until about the mid-60s. For some unknown reason, this is when we see the “C-31” disappear from the Bennett clasp. The clasps afterward which said, Bennett Pat. Pend. were in production from about the mid-60s until the late 1980s. It has been reported that when Mr. Bennett passed, a jewelry supply store bought his dies and started producing the clasp, but now without the Bennett name on the back. This would have been in the late 80s or early 90s.
As far as I can tell, nobody seems to know who “Mr. Bennett” was and even though the clasps said, “Pat. Pend.” on them, I find no evidence of a patent ever being filed for. But whoever he (or she) was, their name will forever live on the back of thousands of bolo ties."
