Antique Brass or Bronze Camel Nose Band~From Gerhard Malm Collection

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Antique Brass or Bronze Camel Nose Band~From Gerhard Malm Collection:
$130.20

Antique Brass or Bronze Camel Nose Band

From Gerhard Malm Collection

6\" X 7.5\" X 3\"

From \"Doc\" Gerhard A. Malm Collection

Author of the Bits and Bridles Encyclopedia

(purchased at his Living estate sale on May 31, 2014.. spoke with him several times during the sale)

From a farm show publication about Doc Malm:

\"Veterinarian Gerhard A. Malm started collecting bridle bits in 1961. He was on his back delivering a
breech calf when he noticed about 40 bridle bits lined up at the top of the barn wall. When he finished
his work, he asked if he might purchase some of them. “Take them,” the farmer told him. “They’ve been
hanging there for more than 40 years.” Malm selected about 10 of the bits to begin a collection that
eventually grew to more than 800. He also has about 600 copies of patents for bits, along with other
collectibles.

His bits’ values range from $100 to $3,500 and are between 100 and 3,000 years old. The newer ones were
made in the U.S. For example, Malm has a military dragoon bit from 1840 among his 15 military bits, which
date from pre-Civil War to the end of the horse cavalry. Older Chinese bits date back to the Han Dynasty
(220 B.C. to 200 A.D.). When first started, Malm purchased them through a New Zealand dealer. He was
fortunate to get them, because about a decade ago China banned them from being sold out of the country.
Malm says he gets $300 to $400 for his Chinese bits. He also made connections with a dealer from Jordan
for bits that date back to 1200 to 500 B.C. from northern Iran. They are sandcast bronze, and Malm has three
of them, two with animal figures and another with a geometric design. Some bits come with certificates of
authentication, and Malm has a large reference library to verify bits. He collected only iron, bronze, brass
and copper bits and avoided buying silver-plated bits because there are many fakes on the market. One of his
most memorable buys was at an antique business in a home near Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. He was told there were
no bits, but noticed one hanging in a tree as he left. He bought it for $4 and later discovered it was an 1857
dragoon bit worth $400. Based on his collection and friends’ collections, Malm published three books over the
years with photos and information about bits.\"

Very cool!... nice ornate design (as pictured)...some slight oxidation and rubbing/age to themetal (as pictured)...neat collectors item.