A direction to take my collecting

[King Butler]

Hello all, I just wanted ask some advice from more experienced collectors about the direction I should take my collection in.

 

I’m recently married and do cannot afford to by every fossil that takes my fancy anymore. As a result I’ll be saving up my money but I’d also like to take my collecting down a more specific route also. I had been collecting Proboscidean teeth for a while, but my heart is still set on dinosaurs. As I want to focus on a specific group but I want advice on which is the most worth my time.

 

I’ve pretty much excluded theropods for a variety of reasons, mainly their too popular and rarer, which means more out right fakes unless you go hunting yourself.  
 

Which of these other groups I was thinking of, which are the better group to focus on.
 

Hadrosaur and Iguanodon species

 

Ceratopsians

 

Sauropods 

 

Armoured Dinosaurs such as Stegosaurus and Ankylosaurus. 
 

I’m  mainly focusing on what group will provide me with a better chance of more genuine fossils from a variety species both on the market and if I ever when hunting in person. I also understand that fossils are rare and appear on the market by chance more then design.

[Runner64]

I don’t think I’ve seen many outright fake teeth in any of the categories you have included, even theropods. I’d suggest picking what you find interesting and like opposed to asking others what you should collect. Whenever you find something of interest, post it here to make sure there’s no resto and ID’d correctly.

[Troodon]

Just an fyi the biggest problem with dinosaur teeth on the market both with theropod and herbivores is identifcation not fakes.  Repair and resto can be a concern with some geographic areas.  Most sellers dont have a good handle in how to identify teeth why we are here on on forum to help newbies and experienced collectors avoid pitfalls.  So like Runner64 said collect what you have passion with not what others tell you, we are here to help.

[Kikokuryu]

11 hours ago, King Butler said:

I’ve pretty much excluded theropods for a variety of reasons, mainly their too popular and rarer, which means more out right fakes unless you go hunting yourself.  
 

Which of these other groups I was thinking of, which are the better group to focus on.
 

Hadrosaur and Iguanodon species

 

Ceratopsians

 

Sauropods 

 

Armoured Dinosaurs such as Stegosaurus and Ankylosaurus. 

The problem is that in all of those categories, it's case by case, formation by formation where what's rare and common will differ greatly.

 

Theropods are not necessarily more rare or prone to resto or fakes. Not all theropods are equal in popularity either.

 

It's also not strange to only see theropods from a locale. Like France, Portugal, and Russia, if you see something, it's probably a theropod most of the time, and once in while, you'll see something other than a theropod where you're going to have a lot more rivals all going after a single specimen. If it isn't an auction, you might only have so many precious seconds to make your decision.

 

While yes, at other times, theropods are more rare and in demand like Tenontosaurus compared to Acrocanthosaurus or Deinonychus.

 

But at the same time, your more likely to see Suchomimus, Eocarcharia, and Kryptops than you would an Ouranosaurus.

[Praefectus]

2 hours ago, Troodon said:

Just an fyi the biggest problem with dinosaur teeth on the market both theropod and herbivores is identifcation not fakes.

I thought the biggest problem was price 

[King Butler]

Thank for your advice everyone, I’ll take some time to think it over and see what I want to do.

Edited September 1, 2021 by King Butler