Denver Mineral, Fossil Gem & Jewelry Show 2021

[DenverEdge]

Top trilo previous years I could find carc teeth that cheap but not this year. Can you tell me the location of that dealer you got it from? And are you planning on going on the last day? I’m waiting until then to go back I already spent too much money but I told myself I want a larger carc tooth but couldn’t find an affordable one.

[DenverEdge]

Also the last day is Sunday not tomorrow. And I always go on the last day to get deals. I’ll watch dealers pack stuff away and then I ask how much on the item they are boxing up the answer is almost always five bucks.

[michele 1937]

How many fake Moroccan fossils.

[Top Trilo]

11 hours ago, DenverEdge said:

And are you planning on going on the last day? I’m waiting until then to go back I already spent too much money but I told myself I want a larger carc tooth but couldn’t find an affordable one.

I will not me going this last day but wish you and @thelivingdead531 good luck. And @Opabinia Blues if you decide to go. And if you happen to take any pictures feel free to add them here. It would be cool to have a comparison between the beginning and end of the show.

Edited September 18, 2021 by Top Trilo

[DenverEdge]

@Top Trilo okay ignore my message then lol you answered my question here. If anyone wants to meet up and get some help with iding fake vs real Moroccan fossils I can help. (Just not trilobites)

[thelivingdead531]

12 hours ago, DenverEdge said:

Also the last day is Sunday not tomorrow.

Oops, you’re right! I had my days all jumbled in my head. 
 

1 hour ago, Top Trilo said:

And if you happen to take any pictures feel free to add them here. It would be cool to have a comparison between the beginning and end of the show.

So even though today isn’t the last day, I’ll still get photos and post them here. I’m really excited as this is my first show! 

[thelivingdead531]

I'm back from the Denver show and let me say "wow"! What an experience it was! I knew it was going to be big, but I just wasn't prepared at how big. Also, bring double the money you think you might need. The gems were exquisite, but that wasn't what I was there for. As for the fossils, holy moly batman! So many Moroccan fossils, so many... unnatural fossils. I found one Moroccan dealer that seemed to have genuinely nice material, so that was a bit refreshing. The really nice fossils all seemed to be inside the main building, and outside of my price range lol. Without further ado, here are my photos (and apologies if @Top Trilo has already posted some of them) :

 

[thelivingdead531]

[thelivingdead531]

[thelivingdead531]

One thing I noticed today is that some vendors had already packed up and were in the process of leaving. The vendor I bought from was also leaving today, so I'm glad I went today instead of tomorrow, and they cut me a deal. Since my husband wouldn't shell out $2000+ for some of the amazing fish fossils I saw (the nerve!), I settled on this little guy. It's my very first vertebra, and I couldn't be happier! It came with its own custom stand, as well.  

 

[Top Trilo]

Sounds like you had lots of fun. I saw lots of things I remember and lots I did not. Makes me want to go every year now. Did you buy anything else?

7 minutes ago, thelivingdead531 said:

 

This is @FossilDudeCO's Company

[thelivingdead531]

5 minutes ago, Top Trilo said:

Sounds like you had lots of fun. I saw lots of things I remember and lots I did not. Makes me want to go every year now. Did you buy anything else?

This is @FossilDudeCO's Company

Unfortunately, the vertebra ate up the majority of my “allowance”. I could have gotten a cheap GRF fish if I really wanted, but the ones still in my price range were ones I already have copious amounts of. I’m trying out this new (to me) thing called “moderation” when it comes to specimens I already have.  I had no idea that was his company! I was practically drooling over that Diplomystus. He had some tumblers for sale also, which I found myself drawn to but didn’t know why. Maybe I have a (very slight) radar for TFF members. 

[thelivingdead531]

I also want to talk about this guy just a tiny bit. It was HUGE. I didn’t bring my tape measure, but it was easily 2ft long. I mean, that’s just a gigantic bug. Once you’re standing in front of it, you quickly realize how fake it is…but before I got in front of it…I thought it was a well made birthday cake!  So either way, it still looks fake, but at least from a slight distance it looks like cake…or I might have just been really hungry.

[DenverEdge]

Very nice vert. Shame I was thinking about going to that vendor tomorrow. If you saw any carcharadontasaur teeth do you mind messaging me their location? 

[thelivingdead531]

On 9/18/2021 at 10:30 PM, DenverEdge said:

Very nice vert. Shame I was thinking about going to that vendor tomorrow. If you saw any carcharadontasaur teeth do you mind messaging me their location? 

I'll pm you.

[RJB]

This certainly brings back memory's when I used to do the denver show.   Was great to see all these pictures.  I dont miss all the packing and unpacking though. 

 

RB

[Yoda]

@thelivingdead531

 

Looks like you had a good time at the show. 

 

Those trays of Madagascan fish nodules would have been very tempting 

Edited September 21, 2021 by Yoda

[Bob Saunders]

I glad that those giant Trilobites aren't around to crawl into my tent while camping, marine or not.  Looks like some of the huge antique shows we used to go to. Our small Michigan show was the same dates. One Paleontologist had a booth and I bought a Brachiopod plate.  I would get lost looking at all the goodies at such a large show, you need an agenda and a spending cap. 

[thelivingdead531]

12 hours ago, Yoda said:

@thelivingdead531

 

Looks like you had a good time at the show. 

 

Those trays of Madagascan fish nodules would have been very tempting 

Oh, yes, they were very tempting! However, I had a budget to stick to so they were sadly out of my reach. If I had a larger budget, a box would have come home with me, without a doubt. I’ve been wanting a nice Madagascan fish for a while now. 

[thelivingdead531]

5 hours ago, Bob Saunders said:

I would get lost looking at all the goodies at such a large show, you need an agenda and a spending cap.

Once we got inside the venue and saw how large it was, that was exactly what I set in motion. I knew I wanted fossils only, so I scanned areas as I walked to look for them. I bypassed most gem and mineral stands. I also had a budget so I wouldn’t go bankrupt. 

[jpc]

are there any fossils left in Morocco? 

 

I wonder how much of that oreodont skeleton was reconstructed...

[carch_23]

On 9/19/2021 at 9:38 AM, thelivingdead531 said:

One thing I noticed today is that some vendors had already packed up and were in the process of leaving. The vendor I bought from was also leaving today, so I'm glad I went today instead of tomorrow, and they cut me a deal. Since my husband wouldn't shell out $2000+ for some of the amazing fish fossils I saw (the nerve!), I settled on this little guy. It's my very first vertebra, and I couldn't be happier! It came with its own custom stand, as well.  

 

Wow thanks for sharing! Literally drooling over the claws and teeth! Online websites are just incomparable to what is available at these shows! Fingers crossed I too would be able to go in person.

 

Awesome piece you got for yourself! And only $2000?!  (... insert perfused sweating)

[Brett Breakin' Rocks]

On 9/18/2021 at 3:05 AM, michele 1937 said:

How many fake Moroccan fossils.

You know, quite a bit of the fossils were standard boiler-plate reconstructions and composites but a few of the Moroccan dealers had some nice fossils that looked like they had just been dug out of the ground, warts and all. To be honest, in discussions with some of the dealers, they will say openly, "Yeah, that's a cast of a trilobite - those are composited" (etc) and steered us (well, my son) over to the real trilobites.  It was my first year at the show, next year I'll need to arrive on the first day to dig through the "bits and pieces" boxes. Some nice fish material. 

 

Some great stuff if you know what to look for. Just a few finds for me for the show. They will need some cleaning up but I thought they were fun finds. The large gar scale is polished quite a bit but I don't mind. 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 22, 2021 by Brett Breakin' Rocks

[thelivingdead531]

Those are nice pieces @Brett Breakin' Rocks! The gar scale is huge!

 

For next year’s show, I’d like to try to plan a TFF “field trip” where some of us can meet up. I love my family, but they don’t share the same enthusiasm as I do, so I’d prefer to wander the tents with like minded people if possible. 

[Brett Breakin' Rocks]

14 hours ago, thelivingdead531 said:

wander the tents with like minded people if possible.

Yeah, I'd love that !  I'm going to shoot for a first weekend crawl if I can swing it next year. Some of the bits and bobs (the ugly boxes essentially) came my most interesting 'finds'.

 

Cheers,

Brett