Out of a Princeton, Illinois, collection a few years ago, a very black chert Spade with a strong iron content--depending on the light you can see the red iron oxides in the dense chert. The bit polish is very, very heavy--and use-dulled from back-breaking work chopping in a sandy soil corn patch. Length is 5&9/16" by 3&1/8", 15/16" at the thickest spot a caliper can reach. Like so many of these layer cherts a 'slab' was chosen, worked to form and hafted. What looks like an end break is simply the natural end of the chert slab--just the natural way the slab looked after it was hauled back to the village knapper. This particular piece seems to also have mica, you'll notice small bits of reflected light from that mineral ion. The finder was an old duck hunter, so pinpointing where he found the spade is about as easy as saying "Along the goose flyway"-can't say for certain if it was the Illinois River area where he lived, or where else he set up his blinds--it (the spade) is guaranteed real. Shipping is $7.00, and checks or M.O.s are welcomed--sorry, I do not use paaypal--Roy A.