crinus Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I only spent a few days (4) at the Tucson show and that was enough. If you are only interested in fossils, any more time is just going over the same old stuff. Here are a few of the things I found and could not leave without them. As you can see by my previous post (Devonian Ophiuroids) I love starfish. They are generally rare and difficult to find. If you find them at shows, they are generally expensive. Unless you are talking about Moroccan stuff. I came across these two pieces and had to have them. I don't think they are fakes. The first plate has the star and three brittle stars. The star has been repaired at the very top but that is the only repair I could find. This plate was pricey but I took the time to get to know the dealer (a Moroccan) and by the end of two days he was willing to sell it for what I was willing to pay. Still pricey. The second plate has 17 ophiuroids (brittle stars) and was very inexpensive. I searched every where for fakery and just did not see any. If someone knows better let me know. I am pretty sure they are real but the price I paid makes me question it. I found this at a show of all Moroccan dealers and not much more. It was off the main area for fossils. Not much traffic but then again I thought the show was slow overall. In all of Tucson there were many Moroccan dealers selling stars and brittle stars. Most of them were of very poor quality and lots of repair - not worth the asking price. There were very few selling quality stars. I also went to Tucson to find a nice Chinese crinoid. I only found one dealer (probably the same as RB found). Most of the prepared stuff was poorly prepared with lots of scribe marks on the crinoids. I found one piece that was unprepped. I tried for two day to get the price down but could only get 10% off. It is a risk to buy unprepped but no more that buying direct from China. This way you see what you are getting and not paying some crazy shipping costs. (have you seen the shipping charges on ebay from China). At least three time more than I paid for this piece. The last couple of item I purchased are fossil but I got them for other reasons. There was a lot of polished slab of petrified wood from Madagascar at very reasonable prices. I purchased a couple at $20 a piece to use as coasters. I bit large (8" in diameter) but I like them better than standard coasters. Finally, I did purchased a gift for my wife (dare I travel and not bring something for her) and it was the only thing that set off panic at airport security. You would think that these slabs of fossil would have that effect, but no. They knew exactly the shape and postition of the item they were looking for. It was one of those crystals that the Moroccans drill a hole into for a tealight candle. Fossils went though with no problem. crinus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFossilHunter Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I saw lots of those stars in tucson this year. they were going for about $25/ a start. I was also not sure about authenticity and although i couldnt find direct evidence, it was clear to me that they were all at least painted over and it was also very suspicious to see how evenly spaced and perfect they all are, all those tentacles perfectly displayed and not overlapping one another. So i didn't buy one because i wasnt sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megaselachus13 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Very nice slabs. What kind of preparation for Traumatocrinus are you going to do?. It is a plate with a great future. Greetings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinus Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 Very nice slabs. What kind of preparation for Traumatocrinus are you going to do?.It is a plate with a great future. Greetings. I will probably use a scribe and an air abrasive. It doesn't look like it will be difficult. The surface appears to be soft and shaley. crinus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megaselachus13 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I said it because chemical preparation is in my humble opinion a very appropiated option. I know there are more calcified levels and other more slender (almost marly), with this ones the chemical method works very fine. It reveals details that abrassives perhaps delete. If you're interested I will give you more detailed description of that method. Greetings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinus Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 I said it because chemical preparation is in my humble opinion a very appropiated option.I know there are more calcified levels and other more slender (almost marly), with this ones the chemical method works very fine. It reveals details that abrassives perhaps delete. If you're interested I will give you more detailed description of that method. Greetings. Are you referring to the NaOH method? If so, i wouldn't mind hearing your procedure. I have tried it on some stuff and it doesn't seem to work well. crinus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worthy 55 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Very nice. It's my bone!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Hey Crinus. I did see quite alot of starfish, but was too scared to buy any cause i dont know much about them and some definetly looked painted. but wasnt that a blast being in Tucson and seeint all that incredible stuff!!!?? RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinus Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 Hey Crinus. I did see quite alot of starfish, but was too scared to buy any cause i dont know much about them and some definetly looked painted. but wasnt that a blast being in Tucson and seeint all that incredible stuff!!!??RB Yes, it was a blast. Everyone should make it out there once in a while. This was only my second time and I loved it. I am sure that a significant number of the starfish are at least touched up with paint. I did however notice that on the unprepped stars that I saw the starfish was the orange color you see everywhere. If they are painting a significant number of them they are at least matching the color they are suppose to be. Next year we should organize a Forum dinner. It could be a blast. Crinus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bmorefossil Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 awsome, very nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Yes, it was a blast. Everyone should make it out there once in a while. This was only my second time and I loved it.I am sure that a significant number of the starfish are at least touched up with paint. I did however notice that on the unprepped stars that I saw the starfish was the orange color you see everywhere. If they are painting a significant number of them they are at least matching the color they are suppose to be. Next year we should organize a Forum dinner. It could be a blast. Crinus If I was a multi billionair I would give most folks on this forum a plane ticket and $10,000.00 to go to Tucson with. Wouldnt that be something? But a Forum dinner? How could that possible work? A great Idea though!!! RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megateeth Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Yes, it was a blast. Everyone should make it out there once in a while. This was only my second time and I loved it.Crinus Every year I say that I will go next year. I never saw photos of the show until this year. I really need to go out next year. Amazing stuff. Megateeth Fossils - Megalodon Teeth, Other Shark Teeth and Info about Megalodon shark tooth collecting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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