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Normally, a brand-new seaside home on the outskirts of Antigonish, N.S. could easily fetch as much as $400,000.

But after homeowner Mike MacDonald stumbled upon a Mi’kmaq axe on the two-acre property, he was quickly able to convince the Province of Nova Scotia that his new home was now effectively worthless.

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“Such a property would be considered very valuable under normal circumstances,” reads a decision by a Nova Scotia appeal tribunal.

But with the artifacts throwing the property’s future into limbo, “the value will be set at $1 until the future use of the Mi’kmaq artifacts is determined,” it read.

The rock-bottom assessment — which MacDonald only obtained after several appeals — frees him from paying any property taxes on the beachfront land.

And for Nova Scotia’s official property tax assessor, the dramatic devaluation is not sitting right.

“The Citadel Hill site (in downtown Halifax) has native artifacts under it; does that mean it’s also worthless?” said Kathy Gillis, CEO of the non-profit Property Value Services Corporation, which is leading a legal challenge to restore the assessed value to $253,500.