Help! Meg tooth real or fake?

[Kiros]

Hello, can anyone help me to understand if this tooth is original, a copy or restored? 

[Gizmo]

It looks real to me, possibly from the meg ledge off the North Carolina coast. A fake one would more than likely have the tip intact. The bourlette and display side root might have been touched up with a black pigment or paint.

[digit]

Agreed. A fake or overly restored one would have fixed the tip damage. It looks like it has been rolling around in the sand for a bit as the edges of the enamel on the broken tip are rounded and the serrations are worn off. I agree that it looks similar to the teeth recovered from the "meg ledges" in North Carolina. The enamel of the blade is quite light (not dark gray) and so I too am surprised at how dark the bourlette is between the blade and the root. I don't know why someone would wish to "enhance" this by staining it darker but it does kinda look like someone might have done so. This appears to be the only potential modification of this. It's a nice size tooth and the tip damage might be from feeding rather than later damage from tumbling around. Somehow, that makes the damage "better" in the eyes of some collectors but I think most would still want a complete tooth with tip and nice serrations. If the tooth is available at an attractive (to you) price and you don't mind it being far from pristine, then you'd probably enjoy having this in your collection.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Kiros]

2 hours ago, digit said:

Agreed. A fake or overly restored one would have fixed the tip damage. It looks like it has been rolling around in the sand for a bit as the edges of the enamel on the broken tip are rounded and the serrations are worn off. I agree that it looks similar to the teeth recovered from the "meg ledges" in North Carolina. The enamel of the blade is quite light (not dark gray) and so I too am surprised at how dark the bourlette is between the blade and the root. I don't know why someone would wish to "enhance" this by staining it darker but it does kinda look like someone might have done so. This appears to be the only potential modification of this. It's a nice size tooth and the tip damage might be from feeding rather than later damage from tumbling around. Somehow, that makes the damage "better" in the eyes of some collectors but I think most would still want a complete tooth with tip and nice serrations. If the tooth is available at an attractive (to you) price and you don't mind it being far from pristine, then you'd probably enjoy having this in your collection.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

Thank you, you confirmed my thoughts. I bought the piece, I was a little dubious because the price is really really really good. 

[digit]

If it had a complete tip and serrations, then the price would have been higher accordingly. When you have it in hand you should be able to inspect it to see if the bourlette was "touched up" to make it darker or if it is natural.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken