Ancient Seed
| Ancient Seed | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Artifact |
| Artifact Spots | Cindersap Forest (0.7%); The Mountain (0.7%) |
| Monster Drops | Bug (0.5%); Cave Fly (0.5%); Grub (0.5%); Mutant Fly (0.5%); Mutant Grub (0.5%) |
| Other Locations | Fishing Treasure Chest (0.7-0.8%); Artifact Trove (3.6%); Deconstructor |
| Museum Reward | Ancient Seeds (1); Ancient Seeds Recipe |
| Sell Price | 5g |
The Ancient Seed is the artifact that opens the way to Ancient Fruit, one of the most profitable crops on the farm. On its own it looks dead and sells for almost nothing. Donating the first one to Gunther changes that. He hands back a packet of plantable Ancient Seeds and the recipe to craft every later artifact seed into more. Because of this, the first Ancient Seed should always go to the museum rather than the shipping bin. Later copies are best crafted into seeds, which turn a lucky dig into a field or a Greenhouse full of fruit.
The in-game description reads: It's a dry old seed from some ancient plant. By all appearances it's long since dead...
Location
Artifact spots in Cindersap Forest and on The Mountain can hold an Ancient Seed. The chance per spot is small, and some farms go a long time before the first one appears. Only a Hoe can dig these wriggling spots. An Archaeologist enchantment on the Hoe doubles the odds of pulling an artifact from a spot.
Insect monsters drop it now and then. Bugs, Grubs and Cave Flies in The Mines can drop it. So can the Mutant Flies and Mutant Grubs of the Mutant Bug Lair under The Sewers. Each kill has a small chance, so the drops add up over many trips into The Mines.
Fishing Treasure Chests can contain one, both the normal and the golden kind. Artifact Troves also include it in their list. The Desert Trader trades a trove for five Omni Geodes, and Clint opens it at the Blacksmith.
Cutting the plants on Prehistoric Floors of the Skull Cavern can drop it. The same goes for foliage in The Mines while they are in a dangerous state, and for plants in the Volcano Dungeon.
A Deconstructor turns a packet of plantable Ancient Seeds back into the artifact. This helps when a plantable packet turns up before the artifact itself.
Museum
Donating the first Ancient Seed to Gunther gives one packet of Ancient Seeds and the crafting recipe for them. The recipe turns one Ancient Seed artifact into one packet of plantable seeds. Every later artifact seed can then be crafted into seeds instead of being sold.
The donation also counts toward the artifact milestones: the Skeleton Statue at fifteen artifacts and Rarecrow #7 at twenty. It adds to the overall donation total as well.
Prices
The Ancient Seed is close to worthless in the shipping bin. Its value lies in the fruit it grows. Ancient Seeds take 28 days to produce their first Ancient Fruit, and the plant then keeps fruiting every 7 days. Ancient Fruit is among the highest priced crops, and Ancient Fruit Wine from a Keg sells for far more. With the Artisan profession and iridium quality from a Cask, a single bottle reaches several thousand gold.
Putting an Ancient Fruit into a Seed Maker gives more Ancient Seeds. This lets one plant grow into a whole field without finding another artifact. The Seed Maker also has a tiny chance to give Ancient Seeds from other crops.
Gifts
The Dwarf and Penny like the Ancient Seed. The Dwarvish Translation Guide has to be earned first, or the gift to the Dwarf does not count.
Krobus, Sandy and the Wizard dislike the Ancient Seed. The older residents Caroline, Demetrius, Evelyn, George, Jodi, Kent, Lewis, Linus and Pam share that view, and so do Abigail, Alex, Elliott, Emily, Haley, Harvey, Leah, Maru, Sam, Sebastian and Shane. The same goes for Clint, Gus, Marnie, Pierre, Robin and Willy, and for the children Jas, Leo and Vincent. Crafting a spare seed into a packet is a far better use than any gift.
Notes
Ancient Seeds grow outdoors in Spring, Summer and Fall, and the plant dies when Winter arrives. In the Greenhouse, the plant keeps going all year. Since it keeps fruiting after the first harvest, a Greenhouse full of Ancient Fruit needs planting only once.
Planting the artifact itself does not work. Only the crafted or rewarded packet goes into the ground.
The Traveling Cart in Cindersap Forest sometimes stocks Ancient Seeds. The cart visits on Fridays and Sundays.
Putting Cloth in the feed and an Ancient Seed on the spool of the Sewing Machine makes the Brown Suit.
All Artifacts
Every entry in this group, with its key details.
| Name | Image | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Amphibian Fossil | 
|
150g |
| Anchor | 
|
100g |
| Ancient Doll | 
|
60g |
| Ancient Drum | 
|
100g |
| Ancient Seed | 
|
5g |
| Ancient Sword | 
|
100g |
| Arrowhead | 
|
40g |
| Bone Flute | 
|
100g |
| Chewing Stick | 
|
50g |
| Chicken Statue | 
|
50g |
| Chipped Amphora | 
|
40g |
| Dried Starfish | 
|
40g |
| Dwarf Gadget | 
|
200g |
| Dwarf Scroll I | 
|
1g |
| Dwarf Scroll II | 
|
1g |
| Dwarf Scroll III | 
|
1g |
| Dwarf Scroll IV | 
|
1g |
| Dwarvish Helm | 
|
100g |
| Elvish Jewelry | 
|
200g |
| Glass Shards | 
|
20g |
| Golden Mask | 
|
500g |
| Golden Relic | 
|
250g |
| Nautilus Fossil | 
|
80g |
| Ornamental Fan | 
|
300g |
| Palm Fossil | 
|
100g |
| Prehistoric Handaxe | 
|
50g |
| Prehistoric Rib | 
|
100g |
| Prehistoric Scapula | 
|
100g |
| Prehistoric Skull | 
|
100g |
| Prehistoric Tibia | 
|
100g |
| Prehistoric Tool | 
|
50g |
| Prehistoric Vertebra | 
|
100g |
| Rare Disc | 
|
300g |
| Rusty Cog | 
|
25g |
| Rusty Spoon | 
|
25g |
| Rusty Spur | 
|
25g |
| Skeletal Hand | 
|
100g |
| Skeletal Tail | 
|
100g |
| Strange Doll (green) | 
|
1000g |
| Strange Doll (yellow) | 
|
1000g |
| Trilobite | 
|
50g |