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Authentic Fossils?


rdiuz

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Hello everyone,

 

This is my first time here, as well as my first time purchasing fossils.

 

I'm interested in purchasing the attached fossils. How do I know whether or not they're authentic? I would really appreciate some help.

 

:)

 

 

il_570xN.1079193637_11ap.jpg

il_570xN.1121643317_jkoo.jpg

il_570xN.1075054900_ii8i.jpg

il_570xN.846989762_qsjp.jpg

il_570xN.846989770_ppis.jpg

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@rdiuz

 

Those first 2 fish are mostly paint!

Looks like about 75% restoration on each of them.

 

The second fish are actually much better for the price they look to be natural (no paint)

 

The ammonites are real, and nice because the centers are not crushed!

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I agree with FossildudeCo. 

1st set of fish are real in part but mostly paint. 

The second set is much better, and real.

The ammonites are real too. 

Regards,

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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Both fossil dudes have provided excellent council. The 4 fish slab is much more desirable in my mind over the "enhanced" first two. That being said, if you are simply desirous of an example of a fossil fish; specimens in much finer states of preservation are readily available at modest cost (e.g. Green River, Knightia ). Good luck and have fun in your search.

 

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See

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13 hours ago, ynot said:

Guess I should have looked closer!:blush:

 

Yeah geez Ynot!!

smearing Tony's good name!

 

Don't worry we wont hold it against you Tony :P

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  • 2 weeks later...

How do you tell from such pics that the fish are mostly paint? Seems like an easy trap to fall into if you don't know.

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12 minutes ago, Wrangellian said:

How do you tell from such pics that the fish are mostly paint? Seems like an easy trap to fall into if you don't know.

Yeah @FossilDudeCO, How do You determine it is paint?:headscratch:

 

Ynot

Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys."

Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough."

 

My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection

My favorite thread on TFF.

 

 

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It is an easy trap to fall into, the people that paint their fish are painting around 5,000 of them a year. 

 

I looked at the larger pictures in the original postings. It is quite clear, they are all one shade and one colour, no variance.

 

True fish colours will differ slightly even on the same fish.

 

These also lack scales which add a unique texture.

 

 

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I look at the larger pics too but there still seems to be some color variation.. I'm sure I could tell if I had a painted and an unpainted specimen in my hands to compare, but I'm much less confident with the photos. I'll defer to your expertise.

Someone should find those painters and stop them! :megalodon_broken01:

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They have been painting fish since before I was born. All because it "looks better"

If you ask they will tell you it is painted, but if you don't ask then there usually is not a mention of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

DSCN9952.JPG

 

 

Check out the detail on this fish. It can be found here

 

Lori found all of the fish in her pictures in 16 hours of digging. 2 days. I believe her total haul came in around 250 fish.

 

When you look at Lori's pictures as well, notice all the pectoral fins, right up near the head and under the rib cage. People generally don't realize the placement on them, so the painters place them because people know fish should have fins. Instead of painting to fill in holes, they generally paint the entire specimen to save time.

 

@ynot @Wrangellian

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Oh and @Wrangellian the colour variation you are seeing in the fish posted here, come from the fact that SOME of it is real fish material.

It is about 50% real and 50% paint on these specimens.

 

 

Minnesota nice has a good picture of a fish that is about 90% paint here. you can tell a little easier that the dark areas are fossilized materials vs the lighter paint.

 

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Thanks... I guess it takes an experienced eye to recognize stuff like this from a smallish pic.

I have very little in the way of fish but I got burned once by a couple of those Ephemeropsis larvae from Liaoning China - similar deal: look closely and they are enhanced by paint. Could not tell from the pics but wasn't expecting it either. At least they weren't expensive, I'd want more certainty (better pics) for a larger purchase.

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