Moving with Fossils

[itsronni]

Hello everyone!

Here’s the deal: I’m moving in the beginning of August which will entail a 900 mile drive (away from any cretaceous fossils ). Wondering how you all would pack your collections!

Most of my collection (95%, lol) consists of teeth. Mostly cretaceous sharks and fish, one meg, a spino, and two mosasaur. I have a few inverts as well, which I’m predicting will be the most fragile. No large pieces or bone. 

I’m thinking individually wrap the fragile pieces, while the common teeth can all be put together? 

Let me know of any good ideas! Thank you!!

[Fossildude19]

Wrap individually with paper towels, then pack with bubble wrap. 

The more tightly packed with the bubble wrap, the better it is for no movement in a larger box. 

Good luck!

[itsronni]

Thanks Fossildude! I will do that! 

[Ludwigia]

3 hours ago, itsronni said:

Wondering how you all would pack your collections!

 

Very carefully and meticulously

[Bobby Rico]

Any thing that is quite heavy I would wrap it well and pack it separately. Also pack as Tim said paper towels and bubble wrap. I would also bubble the bottom of the box , then layer of fossils , layer of cardboard and so on . Take your time and don’t take any chances. Fragile fossil packaged in small boxes with extra bubble wrap 

Edited July 9, 2021 by Bobby Rico

[FossilDAWG]

Besides the above points:

1. Heavier on bottom (duh!)

2. Pack tightly so nothing can shift around.

3. Aluminum foil is good for outer layer of wrapping.  This keeps other layers (paper towels/newspaper*) from coming off.  If you "krinkle up" the foil instead of pressing it flat on the fossils, it can create a "crumple zone" that can absorb some shock or compression without allowing rock-on-rock contact.

4. Write information (ID, provenance) on post-it notes or similar and wrap with each individual fossil.  This keeps the info together with the fossil, without damaging your hopefully nice labels you have with your fossils in the display cabinet.

5. Any especially important (to you, anyway) fossils should be photographed for insurance purposes in case they are lost or destroyed.

 

Don

 

*does anyone get or remember actual newspapers any more?

[itsronni]

Awesome advice everyone, I really appreciate it! Between my collection and my animals, this move has been stressing me!

What about the many shark teeth I have? Should I individually wrap those as well? I have upwards of 50 teeth I’ve collected so far, and I was thinking of using pill bottles for the common ones and wrapping my favorites? 

Thanks again all! 

[Ludwigia]

If you want to keep them all intact and unscratched, then by all means wrap them all separately and pack them in containers in such a way that they don't bounce around.

[FranzBernhard]

Are you driving and handling everything yourself? This makes some difference.

 

13 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

*does anyone get or remember actual newspapers any more?

Yes, here! Still very handy, not only for reading, also for packing and many other applications.

Instead of bubble wrap, I am using crumbled newspaper for packing specimens to be sent within Europe or overseas. Nothing happened to them in more than 10 cases.

 

For very small specimens, I am using a box of appropriate size. Put a few layers of paper towels at the bottom, laying out the fossils on the towels at some distance (about twice the size of the specimens). Followed by some layers of paper towels, fossils, towels, until I am finished or the box is full. As already mentioned, fill the box with crumbled newspaper or something like that, to avoid any movement within the box. That´s one of the most important points: Avoid any movement within the box. If you are going to give them to other persons, shake it quite hard. Nothing should heart inside the box. This box is than placed in a larger box if send by postal service. If you transport it yourself with your car, just put it in a safe place in the car.

Well, there is a trade-off: This method might press the fossils rather hard, which may result in breaking during packing. This method is therefore not recommended for fragile specimens. These should be packed very carefully in individual boxes, then stuffed in bigger boxes.

Did I notice? Avoid any movement within the box. Well, I have .

 

13 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

1. Heavier on bottom (duh!)

Good, if you are doing everything yourself and consider up and down. Irrelevant, if sent by postal service. Specimens within the box must withstand heavy top-down treatment/abuse.

 

Franz Bernhard

Edited July 9, 2021 by FranzBernhard

[erose]

One more suggestion. Make sure the final boxes are not too heavy. I used “book boxes” when we moved from New York to Texas. Too big/heavy and you increase the risk of them being dropped or mishandled. All my stuff arrived in one piece despite being handed off twice between movers.

[itsronni]

 

Thank you all for the wonderful advice! I will definitely be using all of it.

I am moving by myself, so I’ll make sure the box isn’t squished under anything else. The trickiest part will be driving like I’m not from NJ, lol.