Buying A Spinosaurus Claw

[Phos_01]

So you want to buy a Spinosaurus Claw? Then this might help you.

This is a guide I wanted to set up for a while to help others in finding and buying a real claw. Its mostly focused on new collectors.

 

I have noticed recently many people are searching and ending up with fake claws. This made me upset, and I wanted to reach out, and hopefully safe some people from this trap.

 

A disclaimer: this is based on my experiences and opinions, by no means im a Paleontologist or do I know everything, but since I have started collecting, I have been obsessed with searching for claws, and you learn allot along the way, and by talking to other fanatics and sharing information. The photos I have used are from the past, taken from the web , the forum, or auction platforms, or personal. Special thanks to some members on this forum who have helped and still help me with sharing they knowledge. 

 

At this moment there are more fake claws than real claws to be find online and in stores. This is very important to know. Its very problematic. And its a big business. Im focussing in this topic specifically on 'Spinosaurids' Handclaws from Marokko.

 

Keep in mind a real claw is very expensive, we cannot talk about prices here , but im just stating , finding a good real claw cheap is like winning the lottery. Also keep in mind a claw is much much more rare then a tooth. The Spinosaurus had only 3 of them on each hand. While it shed tooth and regrown them its whole life span, this is why a Spinosaurus tooth is not so expensive and rare.

Another thing to keep remembering, do not trust any dealer / or seller blindly, I have seen fake claws being sold by dealers who have a good reputation. Im not at all saying they did it on purpose. Its up to you to educate yourself enough to know what your doing. Also do not fall for the trap of 'with authenticity documents' it does not mean anything, and can be made by anyone.

 

Key things that are very difficult to imitate are the bloodgroves, running from both sides, and the bone structure, that runs around and follows curve of the claw, and the general shape of the claw. Finding a complete unrestored claw is even rarer, most of them have a missing tip, or back end, much like Dinosaur teeth also, the tip is very fragille, and usually restored, or glued together. Complete ones are very rare. There is also something to say on what of the three claws your dealing with , the tumb claw is the most valuable and thickest so the most wanted , they can be massive. The bigger the claw the higher the price, its as simple as that.

 

Im dividing this topic in 6 sections with photos, what to look for, what to run away from. Ill start with the bad, going down to the best. Mostly highlighting the traps.
 

1 - fake composite claws the most common
2 - Carved bone caws

3 - partially fake composite claws (very misleading and dangerous

4 - poorly preserved, but real claws

5 - restored enhanced claws

6 - real claws

 

1. Here we have some examples of fake composited claws. There are tons of them on the web, Ive selected a few of them to make the point. 


 

Look at the wierd curved shape, horrible! 


 another very bad composed one , look at the awe full non smooth shape 



 

And here a pretty common thing you see with fake composed claws, they sure parts of bone in their creation , to make it appear real, bellow I've marked were

Another bad example, notice the overdone bloodgroves, clearly made by man. 

 

Ive quickly marked some parts where you can see random parts of bone have been added.





2. Ok so now we move on to carved from bone claws. Ive highlighted one specific one that was pretty misleading. It looked almost to perfect, and they had managed to more or less let the bone structure follow up curve of the claw. Ive almost ended up buying this claw (luckily I did not) the week after the seller had posted an almost identical , proving even more it was a fake the chance of having two claws that are almost identical is 0 in ? .  Looking back at it, I think its made from multiple bone parts shifted to make it appear that it follows the curve, the shape is also to perfect to be real. They also ad these cracks with some filler, to give it a more authentic appeal ! look out for these. 

 

Here al two other carved bone claws. For the untrained eye, real, because you see 'bone' its very misleading and dangerous, a complete fake. 


Ive made some markings, showing the straight line of the bone structure. This should have been curved , following the curve of the claw.

Another thing to notice is the almost perfect unnatural shape, especially the back end. The cracks they add on purpose to make them appeal authentic. 100% fake.

 

One more:

 

 

Again spot the straight line structure. 

 

3. Ok so now I move on to partially fake composite claws (very misleading and dangerous) it contains parts of a real claw, but its overall fake. 
Ive highlighted one claw as a clear example. Notice a small part of the middle area to be real, and the tip also, they have kept these parts and added composite around it, to make it appear as an a authentic claw. 





4. Now we move on to poorly preserved, but real claws. A choice of the buyer whether you want to invest in this or not. It can be nice if the price is good. Usually the price is for these are almost the same as other real claws though. But at least you are not buying a fake. 

 

A very nice and huge tumb claw , it clearly shows the bone structure following up the curve of the claw. It also shows us a clear mark were it was broken and fixed back together with filler and glue. In my opinion still very nice to have. 



A large authentic claw, but it has allot of hard matrix still attached to it. This can be dangerous if you are not knowing what to look for.
Notice the bone structure small holls, and the bloodgrove. 

And last a small but real handclaw, a bit poorly preserved. 


5 - Ok now we take a look at Restored enhanced claws, these can be tricky also. A fair seller should provide you with a before and after photo. 
If you are OK with it, you can move along, but know its not an authentic complete claw. They make them apear bigger, better, etc.

Personally I always prefer authentic. 

Photo of the claw as it has been found. Here is an example of a before and after.

 

The same claw after the restoration? Can you recognize it? Also notice the redish color batch they add to cover up the resto.

Another example bellow of a real claw that has been restored, and colored the same way. Hard to say what the original would have looked.








And last another one were I have marked the real part, and most likely the complete tip has been restored. 




6. And then we Finally move on to the REAL claws 

 

Here we see a very fine example of a middle sized claw

 

Notice the beautiful bone structure, the small holes, and the flawless color, and the bloodgrove.

 

Another nice example, completely authentic with some filler. Very nice example. Good tip and back end.

 

Two other very nicely preserved examples, with the typical Kem Kem colorization. 

Another nice one I think its the middle claw of the hand. It has been cracked in three parts but clearly visible and real.


Another example, it shows a clear bone structure, blood grove etc. These things are very hard to imitate. 


 

So there we go , Hope this helps some collectors! I might edit some along the way. Apologies for some typo errors it might contain. English is not my native language. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 30, 2022 by Phos_01

[Kane]

An excellently helpful and informative primer.

I have pinned this for easy reference. Well done!

[Phos_01]

56 minutes ago, Kane said:

An excellently helpful and informative primer.

I have pinned this for easy reference. Well done!

Thank you very much! Happy to help out

[Meganeura]

@Ginger0412 Hopefully this is of help to you!

[Troodon]

All these topics are important to try to get the message out that lots of fakes exist.  To help spread the word I've just posted Phos_01 and my topic on Facebook to get an even wider audience.   Lots of collectors are still buying this junk, maybe this will help a little and not get taken by low prices.

 

 

[Ginger0412]

This topic helped me a lot! I found a Spinosaurus claw that's probably real, but I'm missing money. 

[Mart1980]

Wow, fantastically explained!

These kinds of messages are extremely important. To learn, but certainly also to stay sharp when making purchases. Sometimes we want a fossil too much and then deliberately ignore red flags. Now we are awake again

 

Thank you very much 

Edited January 5, 2023 by Mart1980

[Phos_01]

8 hours ago, Ginger0412 said:

This topic helped me a lot! I found a Spinosaurus claw that's probably real, but I'm missing money. 

Good to hear! But its a good advice to always post it on the forum before you buy! you can ever be to sure 

[Ginger0412]

On 12/29/2022 at 10:17 PM, Phos_01 said:

 

 

On 1/5/2023 at 6:17 PM, Phos_01 said:

聞いてよかった！ただし、購入する前に常にフォーラムに投稿することをお勧めします。あなたは確信することができます 

That is correct.

[Ginger0412]

A must read for new collectors like me who are interested in Spinosaurus Claws! If you read it together with Mr. Troodon's topic, it will be very informative and helpful!

[Maxaurus]

Thanks for the fantastic explanation and the work you've put in this topic! As a beginner it's very informative to see all these different real and fake claws. I've learned a lot!

[Abstraktum]

On 12/29/2022 at 2:17 PM, Phos_01 said:

 another very bad composed one , look at the awe full non smooth shape 

 

 

Every claw I ever saw from a dealer at the Munich Show literally looked like this.  Such a shame you can't see any good claws at one of the biggest fossil shows in Europe. Lots of moroccan deals, but only stuff ike this. If there was just one good claw I would be like "shut up and take my money". But claws like this? No thanks. Maybe as a gift so I can see what some Acetone and fitting it back together can do. 

 

Anyway, very good guide that hopefully will help others not to buy bad stuff

[Phos_01]

14 hours ago, Maxaurus said:

Thanks for the fantastic explanation and the work you've put in this topic! As a beginner it's very informative to see all these different real and fake claws. I've learned a lot!

Thanks, thats good to read, this is why this guide is out there! 

 

7 hours ago, Abstraktum said:

Every claw I ever saw from a dealer at the Munich Show literally looked like this

Good ones exist, I have seen a handful in my time collecting, it takes time to find the right claw. They are very expensive and sell very fast.  

[Glen93]

Hi guys, I’m really pleased I found this forum but struggling to ensure what I’ve just agreed on buying is the real thing as there are some brilliant fakes! This wasn’t cheap at all so I’m hoping it’s real but would appreciate opinions, Thankyou 

[Phos_01]

13 minutes ago, Glen93 said:

Hi guys, I’m really pleased I found this forum but struggling to ensure what I’ve just agreed on buying is the real thing as there are some brilliant fakes! This wasn’t cheap at all so I’m hoping it’s real but would appreciate opinions, Thankyou

Hello. Welcome to the forum. Unfortunately this looks like a carved claw. Made from parts of bone, manmade to make it look like a claw. There is no visible bone structure here that needs to be there. Also aways be extra careful whenever you see white gloves photos.. allot of times they are Moroccan merchants trying to uplift their fabrications.  I would try to get a refund as this is not a fossil claw. Goodluck

[Glen93]

5 minutes ago, Phos_01 said:

Hello. Welcome to the forum. Unfortunately this looks like a carved claw. Made from parts of bone, manmade to make it look like a claw. There is no visible bone structure here that needs to be there. Also aways be extra careful whenever you see white gloves photos.. allot of times they are Moroccan merchants trying to uplift their fabrications.  I would try to get a refund as this is not a fossil claw. Goodluck

Thankyou so much! I was initially very excited but start really reading into it and luckily although a price has been agreed no money has been exchanged yet so you’ve definitely saved me (an amateur buyer) being scammed! Thanks again 👍🏻

[The Florida Man]

@Phos_01, Thank you for the informative post. I was preparing to buy this claw but am now doubting the authenticity. Are you able to confirm my suspicions that it is not real?

[Coco]

Already seen on another post it seems to me !

 

Coco

[Phos_01]

18 hours ago, The Florida Man said:

re you able to confirm my suspicions that it is not real?

This is not real yes. You can see the curved edges , the round shape is off. You see some patches of some-what bone like material , overall a very bad fabrication. These type of fakes are listed at #1 in my topic section above.