About Your Appraiser and the TAAA

Texas Artifact Appraisals & Consignments | home

About Your Appraiser and the TAAA

Your appraiser, Bob McWilliams

IF YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE SOMEONE HANDLE YOUR ARTIFACTS, WOULDN'T YOU LIKE FOR THEM TO BE EXPERIENCED?

Hi everybody. For those of you who would like to know about me here is my background in Texas artifacts!

I'm more than a collector! I have had the pleasure of making my living buying, selling, writing about and digging artifacts for artifact collectors, amateur archeologist's and my TAAA members 1994! Here are some of my qualifications to do appraisals for you!:

* FIFTEEN YEARS IN THE TEXAS ARTIFACT BUSINESS!

* PERSONALLY DUG HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS (counting the brokes) OF TEXAS ARTIFACTS FOR MY TAAA MEMBERS.

* FOUNDED THE TEXAS AMATEUR ARCHEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

* CREATED AND PUBLISHED THE "TEXAS CACHE", THE TEXAS ARTIFACT MAGAZINE FOR 10 YEARS.

* STARTED THE IDEA OF COMMERCIAL GUIDED PAY DIGS THAT ARE SO POPULAR TODAY!

* BEEN AN ADVISOR FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE ISSUES FOR THE Official OVERSTREET'S book, "Indian Arrowheads Identification

& Price Guide."

* LEARNED THE ART OF FLINTKNAPPING AND HAVE SAT WITH SOME OF THE WORLDS FINEST KNAPPERS (to learn more about

how artifacts were made and how to tell the originals from the fakes).

* HAVE SOLD HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF $$$'S WORTH OF MY PERSONAL AND OTHER COLLECTORS ARTIFACTS!

* HAVE DONE APPRAISALS FOR MAJOR INSURANCE AGENCIES, DIVORCES, SELLERS OF ARTIFACTS ESTATES AND MORE...

* HAVE RESTORED ARTIFACTS FOR TEXAS COLLECTORS AND WROTE "The Art of Restoring Artifacts".

* HAVE GONE THROUGH COLLECTIONS AND CLEANED OUT THE RESTORED AND MODERN RE-CHIPS.

* I NOW AM NOW A REALTOR SPECIALIZING IN FINDING PROPERTIES WITH MIDDENS FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO BUY THEIR

OWN PROPERTIES.

HERE IS THE STORY ABOUT HOW

The Texas Amateur Archeological Association

and my career in Texas Artifacts EVOLVED

In the early 1990's I had a taxidermy shop in San Angelo, Texas. I mounted some of Texas largest Whitetails, Pronghorn, Exotics etc. and even mounted the life-size Texas state record mountain lion. But, after 20 years of mounting trophies for hunters from all over the United States I was getting tired of standing on concrete 10 to 12 hours a day.

I wanted to start a new business, something that I had a passion for and something totally different that I could enjoy.

Born a country boy and raised on huge West Texas ranch between Junction and Sonora Texas the two things that I loved ended up affecting my professional career the most was artifact (arrowhead) and deer hunting.

Seeing the growing interest in Texas artifacts, I created the “Texas Cache”, the Texas Artifact magazine (Feb. 1994) to teach avid artifact collectors more about what they were finding and to give them a place to show their finds. I published the magazine for 10 years, it is still in existence today being published by Patti Even out of San Antonio. The Texas Cache evolved into the Texas Amateur Archeological Association which I own and is still active in today digging and teaching my members about their finds.

Using my knowledge of guided big buck hunts and seeing an interest growing in Texas artifacts, I took the idea of "guiding" to another level and started leasing ranches all over Texas to take my TAAA members on to hunt artifacts. Now, for 15 years I have taken hundreds of "collectors" from all over America on over 20 ranches I have leased throughout Texas. I have guided my TAAA members through the years to hundreds of thousands of ancient artifact finds (counting the broken ones). It has been said that I have the most photographed thumb in Texas as I have photographed nearly every artifact whole or partial that has come out of the ground on my digs the past 15 years. These are not just words, through photo documentation, I can prove it.

Also, I have been nationally published as a professional artifact advisor in the majority of issues in the Official OVERSTREET'S book Indian Arrowheads Identification and Price Guide.

In the mid 1990's I started restoring artifacts. I even wrote a book on restoration. It's for sale in this web page, click here to go there.

I always wanted to know "how" the Indians made arrowheads and I also needed to know how to identify fakes. So, in the mid 1990's I went to many knap-ins (that's where flint knappers come together, trade ideas and knap beautiful replicas of artifacts). I was fortunate enough to sit and watch and in some cases be trained by some of the worlds best flint knappers.

Prior to the now famous "Temple Artifact Show", I put on two national artifact shows which I even invited the flintknappers to come so we could learn more from them. I billed the show, " The National Artifact and Flintknapping Show of Texas" and held it at the Waco Convention center in the late 1990's.

Today, I still have the Texas Amateur Archeological Association but also, I now am a REALTOR® and can find YOU that property to purchase that has your own midden on it to dig! Give me a ring if you are a qualified buyer (I will only work with pre-qualified buyers - ask me how) and I will go to work for you!

So, if it is experience in the arrowhead world you want when you ask someone to handle your precious artifacts, I have it. I will take care of your artifacts like they are my own. Whether it is appraising your artifacts or selling them for you, You can rest assured that they are in the best of hands.

Personal References

For three years I worked for the Sutton County Sheriff's office (I still ran my taxidermy shop on the side). To this day he is still friends with the Sheriff of Sutton County and Sonora - Joe Fincher. Call him to check Bob out from the side of the law if you like. The number to the Sutton County Sheriff's office is 325-387-2288 - ask for Sheriff Joe Fincher.

Carla Cox. Ms. Cox is a past assistant Texas Attorney General of Texas and maintains her law office in Austin Texas. She has been a member of "Arrowhead Bob's" Texas Amateur Archeological Association since in began in 1994. Call Carla if you like at 512-477-7668 (she said just leave a message as to why you are calling and she will be glad to call you back.

Dr. Leighton Wier. Dr. Wier was voted 2008 Dentist of the Year by his piers. "Doc" as we like to call him also has been a member of the TAAA from day one! Contact Dr. Wier at

Lwiers@aol.com.

Home

TO THE PUBLIC: NEVER ACCEPT AN APPRAISAL WITH MY NAME OR THE TAAA'S NAME ON IT UNLESS IT IS EMBOSSED WITH

THE TAAA AND MY SIGNATURE ON A RAISED SEAL (you can see and feel it - that is your protection against fraud).