Megalodon Tooth

[BellamyBlake]

Hi everyone,

 

I have here a 5.6" Megalodon tooth. Before considering it further, I'd like to know if anyone can see repairs on it. The claim is that there are none. I don't see any, but I'm also not too experienced with recognizing them yet.

 

The images aren't too large. Unfortunately, they're the best quality available. I'd appreciate more eyes on this in any case.

 

Thank you,

Bellamy

[fossilselachian]

I don't see any obvious indications of repair. Tooth looks like a typical "shelf tooth" from the off shore Atlantic Ocean.

 

[aeon.rocks]

My input, controversial as usual, there's dozens of these, in quality like that, pulled up on each single dive. Every diver and reseller has boxes full with megs like that and they are not sold cheap at all and for each of those, there are still plenty better preserved affordable specimens, in similar size, found in other localities - and it always baffles me, that no one says it... It baffles me even more, what drives the masses to purchase these. Perhaps you can help me understand? Is it the seemingly affordable price? The size? Locality? Connection to the past? I can understand diving for them yourself or the craving or the idea to buy similar fossils as part of a hobby, passion, art, systematic collecting by location, for study, gift or even balloning the values as investment or knowing you're spending money for rarity or hard work "behind each specimen" (and sure, I can understand diving for teeth is expensive, equipment costs and risks, but don't tell me it's not worth it even if you are in it just for the money), but I'll probably never understand the hype and what drives collectors to spend high sums of money for common poor preserved rocks like these, often heavily polished. These should be sold for bargains, close to the sum of your fingers, but they're not! And it's not like you don't have options - so yes, fortunately, these're NOT the best quality available. And you can't even see one single serration on this thing and if someone skilled enough wanted to fake this, Atlantic / Ledge megs would be the easiest to fake, fortunately not worth faking, because megs are so common... It's real. 

[BellamyBlake]

18 minutes ago, aeon.rocks said:

My input, controversial as usual, there's dozens of these, in quality like that, pulled up on each single dive. Every diver and reseller has boxes full with megs like that and they are not sold cheap at all and for each of those, there are still plenty better preserved specimens, in similar size, found in other localities - and it always baffles me, what drives the masses to purchase these. Perhaps you can help me understand? Is it the seemingly affordable price? The size? Locality? I can understand the craving or the idea to buy fossils as part of a hobby, passion, art, systematic collecting by location, for study, or even as investment or gift or knowing you're spending money for rarity or hard work "behind each specimen" (and sure, I can understand diving for teeth is expensive, equipment costs and risks, but don't tell me it's not worth it even if you are in it just for the money), but I'll probably never understand the hype and what drives collectors to spend high sums of money for common poor preserved rocks like these. These should be sold for bargains, close to the sum of your fingers, but they're not! And it's not like you don't have options - so yes, fortunately, these're NOT the best quality available. And you can't even see one single serration on this thing and if someone skilled enough wanted to fake this, NC Ledge megs would be the easiest to fake, fortunately not worth faking, because megs are so common... It's real. 

You start to look into better quality ones, and the price doubles. Then it triples, and quadruples. Not everyone can afford that. For some quality isn't the biggest deal. Holding a piece of the past in my hands has its own appeal for me.

[aeon.rocks]

Quote

You start to look into better quality ones, and the price doubles. Then it triples, and quadruples. Not everyone can afford that. For some quality isn't the biggest deal. Holding a piece of the past in my hands has its own appeal for me.

 

 

Perhaps you're looking in the wrong places. I know what you're talking about when saying not everyone can afford that, but it's a bubble and it starts at the bottom, perhaps instead of 2 or 3 like this, just 1 nicer preserved... Maybe, I'm wrong - but I think these are not so affordable either.

 

Of course, it's always about that piece of the past in your hands, but when you're paying a lot of money for common poor preserved fossils like this, that drives all prices up. And imho you can hold 20 pieces of the past like this in your hands, but that can not compare to the feeling / idea about the shear force of this giant killing machine, when you're holding just 1 tooth (with sharp serrations preserved!) in hand.

[BellamyBlake]

10 minutes ago, aeon.rocks said:

 

 

Perhaps you're looking in the wrong places. I know what you're talking about when saying not everyone can afford that, but it's a bubble and it starts at the bottom, perhaps instead of 2 or 3 like this, just 1 nicer preserved... Maybe, I'm wrong - but I think these are not so affordable either.

 

Of course, it's always about that piece of the past in your hands, but when you're paying a lot of money for common poor preserved fossils like this, that drives all prices up. And imho you can hold 20 pieces of the past like this in your hands, but that can not compare to the feeling / idea about the shear force of this giant killing machine, when you're holding just 1 tooth (with sharp serrations preserved!) in hand.

I agree that one better preserved one would be preferable to two or three of a lower quality. I can only speak for my desires. I'd want one large one as opposed to two or three. I've looked pretty extensively, but fully take your point. I cannot know every place. I think anyone would prefer a better preserved fossil, so if you have a website or dealer in mind that I'm not aware of I'd definitely appreciate if you could PM it to me.

[Praefectus]

56 minutes ago, aeon.rocks said:

My input, controversial as usual, there's dozens of these, in quality like that, pulled up on each single dive. Every diver and reseller has boxes full with megs like that and they are not sold cheap at all and for each of those, there are still plenty better preserved affordable specimens, in similar size, found in other localities - and it always baffles me, that no one says it... It baffles me even more, what drives the masses to purchase these. Perhaps you can help me understand? Is it the seemingly affordable price? The size? Locality? Connection to the past? I can understand diving for them yourself or the craving or the idea to buy similar fossils as part of a hobby, passion, art, systematic collecting by location, for study, gift or even balloning the values as investment or knowing you're spending money for rarity or hard work "behind each specimen" (and sure, I can understand diving for teeth is expensive, equipment costs and risks, but don't tell me it's not worth it even if you are in it just for the money), but I'll probably never understand the hype and what drives collectors to spend high sums of money for common poor preserved rocks like these, often heavily polished. These should be sold for bargains, close to the sum of your fingers, but they're not! And it's not like you don't have options - so yes, fortunately, these're NOT the best quality available. And you can't even see one single serration on this thing and if someone skilled enough wanted to fake this, Atlantic / Ledge megs would be the easiest to fake, fortunately not worth faking, because megs are so common... It's real. 

Not everyone is looking for a trophy specimen. 

[aeon.rocks]

3 minutes ago, BellamyBlake said:

I agree that one better preserved one would be preferable to two or three of a lower quality. I can only speak for my desires. I'd want one large one as opposed to two or three. I've looked pretty extensively, but fully take your point. I cannot know every place. I think anyone would prefer a better preserved fossil, so if you have a website or dealer in mind that I'm not aware of I'd definitely appreciate if you could PM it to me.

 

There's plenty of rocks to go around, plenty of sellers too. I'm not trying to sell you anything, you could easily find a few divers who offer decent quality at fair market values.

[aeon.rocks]

Quote

Not everyone is looking for a trophy specimen. 

 

Sure, we're talking about commercial grade, not about trophy specimens, but why would anyone want to spend a few hundreds dollars for a polished rock, there are alternatives... I'm guessing buying on impulse, not enough "homework" and deceptive descriptions are the actual problem! Just don't rush...

[BellamyBlake]

1 hour ago, aeon.rocks said:

Sure, we're talking about commercial grade, not about trophy specimens, but why would anyone want to spend a few hundreds dollars for a polished rock, there are alternatives... I'm guessing buying on impulse, not enough "homework" and deceptive descriptions are the actual problem! Just don't rush...

You're tossing around way too many assumptions, as though I didn't spend weeks looking through the various dealers, finding more yet, and realizing that this is the only thing at that size that's in my budget. Does that make me impulsive?

[Randyw]

@BellamyBlake I’m sure you’ve done your due diligence.  this tooth looks ok to me. Now I don’t know what this one is selling for but If you like it and it’s affordable to you then I’d say go for it. Yes it is just “a rock” but by the same token so is any fossil. I’ve yet to see anyone who says this or that are common and too expensive offer to sell a similar or better at a cheaper price. Or even suggest someplace where they can be got cheaper. When they do I’ll consider their advice. Otherwise I’ll research reputable sellers and buy what I like and what fits my budget.

[Ludwigia]

To get back to the original question: No, I don't think that this has been tampered with in any way.

[aeon.rocks]

3 hours ago, BellamyBlake said:

Does that make me impulsive?

No, sorry, I did't assume that you are impulsive.

 

And I'm not trying to discourage you - but the question is, as pointed out, do you like the tooth? If yes, go for it.

 

Quote

 Now I don’t know what this one is selling for but If you like it and it’s affordable to you then I’d say go for it. 

Not even close to affordable, but that's what PM is for.

 

Quote

 I’ve yet to see anyone who says this or that are common and too expensive offer to sell a similar or better at a cheaper price. Or even suggest someplace where they can be got cheaper.

 

I did send a PM, not to sell anything tho. If I were a diver, I would offer a 5" at the budget... I'm not, not hoarding hundreds of these either. And I'm perfectly aware this is p... in the wind, fossils tend to be more expensive in recent years, but this shouldn't be an expensive hobby when it comes to quality like this. We see it all the time however, Moroccan material purchased cheap and resold for 2-10x higher with deceptive descriptions (and even then the profits are smaller - try spending 100h prepping 1 fossils and 100h diving for teeth, then compare profits), Indonesian megs purchased cheap and resold 2-10x higher, Chinese fossils..., etc. I'm not trying to p... in the wind, just encourage new collectors to do some research before buying anything, from anyone.

 

My point was just, that if he'll start collecting megs and perhaps this is not the last meg he will want to hold in hands, then maybe take it easy, don't rush - you can buy a 5.5" Ledge tooth for such price anytime. Maybe to consider buying 1 serrated commercial grade tooth for a bit more, instead of 2 teeth, with broken tip and other feeding damage, peel on both sides, completely worn serrations, no gum, hydration cracks and often even polished... But if he likes... It's not the worst preserved meg I've seen! And all Ledge teeth are known for similar condition!

 

As mentioned, not trying to discourage, I just pointed out the obvious, commercial "traps" for new collectors are not just "real vs. fake", but rip off prices for very common low quality aswell: 

 

It's not about money! But size is not everything in meg collecting and a nice "killer" serrated 4"+ collector grade SC or GA tooth, or even a nicer 5" with sharp serrations and some feeding damage, can be found for a similar price. Commercial grade. Do research, then decide... There's no need to rush, when it comes to the most common fossils... Unless you really like the unique specimen.