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what do you collect? (or keep)


butchndad

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good morning all

a recent post of mine and then the response of 2 members concerned keeping (or not) of found modern bone.

which got me wondering - WHAT DO YOU FOLKS COLLECT OR KEEP? (not exactly sure what the difference is).

For me, collecting in Cretaceous Big Brook, fossil shark or other teeth are my main finds and hence my main collection.

But i collect, or at least keep pretty much anything i find that i like so i also keep belemnite, fossil shells, modern bone, interesting stones and artifacts ranging from pottery shards to glass bottles (and even odd stuff like shell casings).  (I even have a glass vase full of translucent rocks).

What do you collect or keep?

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I prefer a representative collection, so pretty much everything of the given period (ammonite zone) and location. No need 1000 of the same species, 3-5 are enough if they of a good quality. So I keep the 1st I find, then change them for normal quality ones, then switch to other finds and locations. I usually have an idea of what to expect and what I'd like to keep beforehand.

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I love to collect fossil invertebrates, so large rocks that have multiple species or specimens. I also love trilobites so I collect pieces and bits of them whenever I can find them, and I love them in my collection. When I have gone to big brook I collect belemnites because I find them aesthetically pleasing, alongside being selective in oysters. I've been 3 times but have actually never found shark teeth, although I have found bone bits and an arrow head one time, which I thought were pretty neat. I also collect crinoids that I think i can fit in my collection whenever I can, as I think they are neat in larger fossil collectives. The other thing I try to keep in mind when I collect at a locality is whether I think I will be back or not, as if I think I will be there only once, I try to collect a more representative sample of what I find than I i am going to collect something in particular.

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I pretty much collect what fossil I can mainly find ( ammonite, bugs, belemnites, plant material   and  mammal bits) I collect what I have been kindly given ( shark teeth , ammonite, hash plates, corals, dinosaur bits, mammal teeth and macro fossil ex) . I also buy any of the  above. So in short all fossils are welcome in my collection . I also like adding diorama, plastic dinosaur and other curious to mu displays, I have made a curio post here on the forum if  your interested ?
 

cheers Bobby 

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I think for many collectors it depends on how long you've been collecting, how fossiliferous your "area" of collecting is and how much space you have in your house!  For a long time I collected just about everything that looked half way decent. Now that I have found good specimens of the more "common" fossils, I am more discerning in what I take home. I am always happy to find something that is new, of course, but also a better quality of what I have. Like others, I like to keep at least 3 to a dozen of each species, replacing the lesser quality ones with better if I find em. That being said, I also have my "display" jars which are just decorative! And they are rapidly getting full...   And I also keep any animal skulls I find. That's a whole 'nother collection.

 

 

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Of the fossils I collect, I probably keep/display less than 10% with the other stuff just waiting to be gifted to others. As my focus is primarily trilobites, other fossils do make their way into my bucket, of which I may keep a representative example. The rest of the time out in the field is spent pretty much collecting for other people. :D 

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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Right now in this covid-19 scenario I wish I was collecting anything!!!!!!!!!. I only collect trilobites, crinoids, cystoids and Eurypterids and items that have been gifted to me by collecting friends. Based on what I have kept I suspect I have given away as much as I have kept over the years...

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Depends....I give a lot of mine away to grandchildren, friends and colleagues. Personal collection is those pieces that are unusual, good quality and vertebrates. So I pick up a certain quantity of  one species and then find more when I start running low. Vertebrates are the exception. I tend to keep the majority of those. Which is not many I might add. 

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I tend to keep anything I find as long as I haven't found it yet. Once I've found enough of the things, then I start getting choosy and just keep good complete specimens, unless I even already have enough of those, whereby I leave them for others to find.

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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I started pretty recently(about a year ago) and NJ isn’t the most fossiliferous so I keep pretty much everything I find, the only exception is at the end when I’m trying to get as many sifts in as possible and am only taking big shark teeth and reptile teeth!   In more fossiliferous sites I’ve been to I usually keep most stuff and look at it later to make sure there aren’t any pathology’s or predation marks on them and then figure what to do with them afterwards! 

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Invertebrate marine life is common in my area, so I mainly collect that type of stuff. Brachiopods, corals, Gastropoda, crinoids, and the like. However, I am also a generalist and haven't found a type of fossil I don't like yet, so any and all fossils are welcome in my collection!

 

When I first started collecting I brought home anything and everything. These days I am more choosy. Especially if I already have a few representative pieces. 

 

I also almost always come home with a "cool rock" or two. ;) 

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The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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6 hours ago, Rhiguita said:

I love to collect fossil invertebrates, so large rocks that have multiple species or specimens. I also love trilobites so I collect pieces and bits of them whenever I can find them, and I love them in my collection. When I have gone to big brook I collect belimnites because I find them aesthetically pleasing, alongside being selective in oysters. I've been 3 times but have actually never found shark teeth, although I have found bone bits and an arrow head one time, which I thought were pretty neat. I also collect crinoids that I think i can fit in my collection whenever I can, as I think they are neat in larger fossil collectives. The other thing I try to keep in mind when I collect at a locality is whether I think I will be back or not, as if I think I will be there only once, I try to collect a more representative sample of what I find than I i am going to collect something in particular.

finding an arrowhead in Big Brook is on my bucket list!

Big Brook seems to have areas that are better for oysters and belemnites and other areas that are better for shark teeth

if you ever want to go back to Big Brook to look for shark teeth, let me know and i can give you some idea where to look

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 Anything cool.  Or anything that I think is cool.   Ive gotten rid of 90% of what Ive collected over the years but am still in the process of getting my A-Grade material in cabinets or on the walls.  My main interest are the crabs, ammonites and the fishes. 

 

RB

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Everything. If it is worn and I don't want it for my personal collection I bring it home anyway, and give to a friend, acquaintance, school, etc. It's better that someone should have it, even if not appreciated, than to wear away to nothing outdoors and be lost forever. If I save it, it may eventually end up in someone's collection.

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Mark.

 

Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them!

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28 minutes ago, Malcolmt said:

RJB you put us all to shame!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Malcolmt, but no, Ive seen some of your stuff.  :)

 

RB

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2 hours ago, Malcolmt said:

Right now in this covid-19 scenario I wish I was collecting anything!!!!!!!!!. I only collect trilobites, crinoids, cystoids and Eurypterids and items that have been gifted to me by collecting friends. Based on what I have kept I suspect I have given away as much as I have kept over the years...

Still looking forward to the fifty cent tour. :look:

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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I collect memories

Great times spent with good friends and new friends enjoying a day of exploration and discovery in the great outdoors,

The adrenaline rush of the initial fossil discovery, 

The intellectual challenge of researching and ID'ing my find,

Recognition of its age and its place in the evolutionary story,

The rush of all of these memories each time I see/handle the fossil again,

The sharing of all of this with friends of similar interest,

etc., etc., . . . .

You get the idea me thinks.  -_-

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A beautiful and all too true sentiment, @grandpa :) 

It has been said that we may collect fossils, but we actually collect friends. My closest friends are ones I have broken rock with. :) 

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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2 hours ago, butchndad said:

finding an arrowhead in Big Brook is on my bucket list!

Big Brook seems to have areas that are better for oysters and belemnites and other areas that are better for shark teeth

if you ever want to go back to Big Brook to look for shark teeth, let me know and i can give you some idea where to look

Hey, could you pm some ideas to where to look, last year I went twice with my family and we only found one tooth on those two trips, I went to ram and had some success but I haven’t been back to big brook, and you seem to have success at big brook so I’m curious what you do to have success like you have!

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8 hours ago, Bobby Rico said:

I pretty much collect what fossil I can mainly find ( ammonite, bugs, belemnites, plant material   and  mammal bits) I collect what I have been kindly given ( shark teeth , ammonite, hash plates, corals, dinosaur bits, mammal teeth and macro fossil ex) . I also buy any of the  above. So in short all fossils are welcome in my collection . I also like adding diorama, plastic dinosaur and other curious to mu displays, I have made a curio post here on the forum if  your interested ?
 

cheers Bobby 

please share.  i'm always curious how folks keep or display their collections.  Personally at this point all my teeth are in glass topped display cases, piled one on top of the other.  But then i am in a condo and space is at a premium

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2 hours ago, RJB said:

 Anything cool.  Or anything that I think is cool.   Ive gotten rid of 90% of what Ive collected over the years but am still in the process of getting my A-Grade material in cabinets or on the walls.  My main interest are the crabs, ammonites and the fishes. 

 

RB

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DSCN0687.JPG

DSCN1211.JPG

DSCN1814.JPG

very nice (i admit to being jealous)

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36 minutes ago, Kane said:

My closest friends are ones I have broken rock with. :) 

that's a great line

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25 minutes ago, Familyroadtrip said:

Hey, could you pm some ideas to where to look, last year I went twice with my family and we only found one tooth on those two trips, I went to ram and had some success but I haven’t been back to big brook, and you seem to have success at big brook so I’m curious what you do to have success like you have!

what i've found is that it depends on what direction you go from Hillsdale Rd.  Toward Boundary Rd (opposite side from the Big Brook sign) you'll find more teeth and less belemnite and oysters.  On the side with the sign, less teeth, more oysters and belemnite.  And i guess it makes sense that the further from the parking area the better.  Obviously that's only my take and other, more experienced Big Brook collectors may say differently

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