Presented for your consideration is this beautiful old antique California spade bit by J Tapia, beautifully made with the engraving and style that the Tapia family was known for. The bit has classic style Las Cruces shanks accented with silver inlays and high domed conchos engraved with a star. The oval area above the conchos is inland with silver and engraved with the letters “DTE”. It has a classic Poco spade mouthpiece with the original "cricket" and rein chains. The top of the spoon has a floral engraved pattern that is chased into the iron. Jose Tapia didn't mark his work and Jesus Tapia marked very few of his pieces. However the signature of J Tapia is there if you know what to look for. There is a small circular “punch” that is on the back of the cannon bar that is a trademark of J. Tapia. This mark was made to make sure the mouthpiece was perfectly centered. The Tapia family was the only known family to mark their bits as such. This mark is documented in the book “Bits and Spurs in the Vaquero Tradition” by Ned and Jody Martin. See photo for details. Guaranteed to be an authentic Tapia. Provenance will be provided to the buyer.
MAKER: Tapia family of Los Angeles, California - Jose Tapia (1831-1902) or Jesus Tapia (1856-1931).