Combination Halberd / Matchlock for comment

M ELEY · 6th September 2014, 08:46 AM

The more I look at it, I'm convinced its an early trade tomahawk. The halberd types were early, mimicing the European weapons of the same name. The native Americans were captivated by the shapes of these weapons. Besides the halberd style, there were also 'spontoon head' tomahawks. I'm guessing the date on yours to be 17th to early 18th c. The French fur traders coming in through the Hudson River valley would have been the first to encounter and trade with the natives. You have an amazing piece!! Love to have it for my collection-

The site I referenced above is hard to pull up. If you do a general google search for 'halberd head tomahawk', you will see examples of this rare style of trade axe.

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6th September 2014, 08:46 AM	#4
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,158	The more I look at it, I'm convinced its an early trade tomahawk. The halberd types were early, mimicing the European weapons of the same name. The native Americans were captivated by the shapes of these weapons. Besides the halberd style, there were also 'spontoon head' tomahawks. I'm guessing the date on yours to be 17th to early 18th c. The French fur traders coming in through the Hudson River valley would have been the first to encounter and trade with the natives. You have an amazing piece!! Love to have it for my collection- The site I referenced above is hard to pull up. If you do a general google search for 'halberd head tomahawk', you will see examples of this rare style of trade axe.