How much of this Carcharodontosarus tooth is restored?

[BonuFrailman]

Hi guys,

 

I’m making this post because I have a tooth that I’m thinking of purchasing but I can’t tell how much is restored. The seller says it’s restored but is sort of vague on where. I’m not the best at spotting resto so I figured maybe someone could lend a hand on this one. 

 

Thanks!

[BonuFrailman]

[Praefectus]

I am suspicious of the circled area. It is different from the rest of the tooth. Better pictures are needed in order to say for sure. 

 

[Brett Breakin' Rocks]

9 minutes ago, BonuFrailman said:

I’m not the best at spotting resto so I figured maybe someone could lend a hand on this one. 

We see the matrix infill and sand quite a bit on the forum .. I personally don't see as much on the first side but someone with more experience can spot anything funny. However .. in the second image you can see the fill and potentially some of the filled and sanded cracks ? 

 

 

To be honest the images are dark and out of focus/soft and you should be provided good shots of the tip (and serrations) on both sides as well if you are going to spend any amount of money on a purchase like this. You can always post the additional images here.

 

 

 

Cheers,

Brett

[Brett Breakin' Rocks]

Just now, Praefectus said:

I am suspicious of the circled area. It is different from the rest of the tooth. Better pictures are needed in order to say for sure.

Ha ! .. jinx ...

[Praefectus]

2 minutes ago, Brett Breakin' Rocks said:

Ha ! .. jinx ...

[BellamyBlake]

I agree with the above. I would be very suspicious.

[BonuFrailman]

8 hours ago, Brett Breakin' Rocks said:

We see the matrix infill and sand quite a bit on the forum .. I personally don't see as much on the first side but someone with more experience can spot anything funny. However .. in the second image you can see the fill and potentially some of the filled and sanded cracks ? 

 

 

To be honest the images are dark and out of focus/soft and you should be provided good shots of the tip (and serrations) on both sides as well if you are going to spend any amount of money on a purchase like this. You can always post the additional images here.

Cheers,

Brett

The serrations appear to be in good shape, as well as the tip. So from what you've seen would you say the only point of restoration is the filled enamel?

[Brett Breakin' Rocks]

1 hour ago, BonuFrailman said:

The serrations appear to be in good shape, as well as the tip. So from what you've seen would you say the only point of restoration is the filled enamel?

I would ping @Troodon or @LordTrilobite for the definitive answer but that tooth is huge .. and I suspect a near perfect tooth would cost a small arm and leg (or first born child). For someone (myself) that would eventually love a theropod tooth in my collection, these seem to be some of the more approachable. For my budget at least. It's got what looks to be some of it's original character and I love the color. But yeah, everyone has their own line they do not cross. 

 

Maybe one of them will chime in and give a more expert opinion.

 

Cheers,

Brett

[BonuFrailman]

11 minutes ago, Brett Breakin' Rocks said:

I would ping @Troodon or @LordTrilobite for the definitive answer but that tooth is huge .. and I suspect a near perfect tooth would cost a small arm and leg (or first born child). For someone (myself) that would eventually love a theropod tooth in my collection, these seem to be some of the more approachable. For my budget at least. It's got what looks to be some of it's original character and I love the color. But yeah, everyone has their own line they do not cross. 

 

Maybe one of them will chime in and give a more expert opinion.

 

Cheers,

Brett

Thanks Brett your help is appreciated! It’s good that you’re taking your time on a theropod tooth as I’ve missed out on quite a few nice ones because I blew my budget one a bunch of small ones 

 

I hope you find a piece that catches your eye one day as those are usually the most special ones!

[LordTrilobite]

I 100% agree with @Praefectus. That circled area does indeed look like it's been filled up.

 

The other side looks better and it seems like there might not be any significant restoration on that side. But better, sharper photos of those areas are needed to show the extent of the repair. At least it doesn't seem to be a composite since the tooth seems to continue nicely on the one side. But be careful judging such a fossil from just these blurry photos. I'd want better photos of the good side to know for sure if it's not a composite (I don't think that's likely but still), since the repair is so extensive on the other side.

 

It might just be some slight filling to hide missing enamel on an otherwise complete tooth. But it's really not possible to tell from these photos.

 

[Troodon]

I will further echo what LordTrilobite said the photos are not sharp enough to see if there are other areas of restoration and there not enough closups to clearly see ALL the serrations, tooth and especially the base.   Just because some of the closups look good it does guarantee anything about the rest of the tooth.  

 

If you do wind up getting the tooth given that its already poorly restored I would get it professionally repaired so they can clean up the mess and make both sides look the same.  Not expensive and I can provide you someone to do that.

[Troodon]

Here are some additional downloaded photos of the tooth not screenshots.  The distal serrations look good but still too blurry to make other observations. 

 

 

 

 

 

[BonuFrailman]

16 hours ago, Troodon said:

I will further echo what LordTrilobite said the photos are not sharp enough to see if there are other areas of restoration and there not enough closups to clearly see ALL the serrations, tooth and especially the base.   Just because some of the closups look good it does guarantee anything about the rest of the tooth.  

 

If you do wind up getting the tooth given that its already poorly restored I would get it professionally repaired so they can clean up the mess and make both sides look the same.  Not expensive and I can provide you someone to do that.

Thanks Troodon! I'll make sure to pm you if I ever need a repair. 

 

I think I'm going to give this one a miss and wait for some better specimens.