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Let's see your latest mailbox score - 2017!!


britishcanuk

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I know I'm not the only one that doesn't live near good fossil deposits, which means that i'm not the only one that has to buy or trade fossils from time to time to build the collection. I thought it would be fun to have an ongoing thread to share our latest great score that we didn't personally find in nature, a thread to share your latest fossil purchase or trade. Let's see what you found at the local fossil show, online or anywhere else other than in the ground.

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Here are three different recently acquired palaeocarcharodon teeth showing varying degrees of serrations. There is a bit of restoration done to the roots of one or two of them, but the blades and cusps seem to be in tact and the price was right. All three are from Morocco, and all three were found in the auction site...

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1 hour ago, jpc said:

you want to see my cell phone, gas and electricity bills?  

 

Only if they've fossilized! :P

 

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Nice idea. It's not like I'm far away from any deposits, but I still do sometimes buy or trade for some hard-to-get fossils. This is my most recent one. Euaspidoceras douvillei from the Oxfordian at Villers in Normandy.

 

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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I buy conulariids sometimes - there are some very rare, mostly tiny, Carboniferous ones near me which got me hooked but they're generally very hard to find in the UK.

 

I haven't identified this one properly yet, from Alnif district, Morocco, Lower Devonian.

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Tarquin

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A couple of months ago, my brother, knowing my love of all things reptilian and prehistoric, sent me a link to a fossil that was for sale on an online buy/sell site. This wasn't just a shell, or a fish, or even a trilobite or bone fragment, but a complete articulated Hyphalosaurus. We all know the deal with the Chinese and their abundant fake fossils, so I laughed when I saw the ad with the most perfectly placed skeleton on it. I wasn't falling for that nonsense! Besides, it's posted on kijiji!
 
The next day I looked at it again, mostly because nothing good was on TV and I had a closer look, it was actually a pretty good fake! I counted the vertebrae, they checked out. These guys are really paying attention to the details! I counted the ribs, they nailed those too. I asked the seller for better photos, she obliged and informed me that her husband had received it as a gift while at a business meeting in China many years ago, which is about the only way something like this could have ended up here because China banned the export of vertebrate fossils in the early 2000's. I also posted it on this site to see what TFF members thought of it. Opinions were mixed, with a few saying no way it's real and others saying they saw nothing that would suggest a fake. Be cautious and prepare for disappointment was the message I was taking from the responses.
 
By now, my wishful thinking was getting the better of me and I was trying to convince myself it could be real, despite the vast quantity of fakes available, despite the fact that it is complete and pristine and even though a few experienced internet friends said it was "too good to be true, don't fall for it".
 
After a couple of days my optimistic side got the best of my common sense side and I sent this lady a bank draft. Sending money to strangers on kijiji is a bad idea, but I would have burned more in gas than her asking price.
 
It arrived a couple of days later, poorly packed and hardly protected at all (bubblewrap is cheap ma'am!) , but to be honest it was a win in itself since I was half expecting to never hear from her again after she received my payment. I opened the the box, got my hand lens and microscope and examined this thing. I got goose bumps as it became evident that I was looking at the most incredible (and authentic) specimen of Hyphalosaurus baitaigouensis I could have ever imagined. Microscopic teeth and pores in the skull were all preserved in perfect detail, little claws and even what looks like some obscured remnants of its last meal in the gut were observable. A small amount of work had been done to the matrix, but the skeleton was in exceptionally good condition and had no noticeable restoration at all. It was the real deal and it was stunning.
 
To me, this is the equivalent of buying a famous painting at a thrift shop, or a rare roman artifact at a yard sale. These kinds of things never happen to me, except this time it did!

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On 2/27/2017 at 10:49 AM, britishcanuk said:

I had this display case commissioned shortly after it arrived.

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Wow!

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Quote

Nice idea. It's not like I'm far away from any deposits, but I still do sometimes buy or trade for some hard-to-get fossils. This is my most recent one. Euaspidoceras douvlilleifrom the Oxfordian at Villers in Normandie.

 

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I have made an offer for this too  :D:D

 
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This monster mako (just under 3") was waiting for me when I got home today, stuffed between a bunch of bills. 

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This is my latest from a month or so ago. I purchased some Lance Formation matrix off the big auction site. Not to horribly expensive. First pic shows the chunks. They were bigger but I have (literally) broken them down into smaller pieces. I have about 2 quarts more of smaller bits in a container. I tried using vinegar on it but it didn't seem to be doing much. I have some muriatic acid but I am not currently inclined to use it on the matrix for fear of damaging the fossils. I can't find any hydrogen peroxide anywhere in town.

 

 

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:popcorn: John

I had a friend once, but the wheels fell off. Sad, very sad. - Nightwing

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4 hours ago, JohnBrian said:

This is my latest from a month or so ago. I purchased some Lance Formation matrix off the big auction site. Not to horribly expensive. First pic shows the chunks. They were bigger but I have (literally) broken them down into smaller pieces. I have about 2 quarts more of smaller bits in a container. I tried using vinegar on it but it didn't seem to be doing much. I have some muriatic acid but I am not currently inclined to use it on the matrix for fear of damaging the fossils. I can't find any hydrogen peroxide anywhere in town.

 

Nice looking matrix!

 

If the vinegar didn't do anything (minimal bubbles to be seen), then muriatic or other acids won't do much to the matrix either. If it bubbled a lot, but didn't appear to alter the rocks, that's typical for limestone--it takes repeated immersions to really get significant dissolution. I'd still be concerned for the fossils.

 

Have you tried using a freeze/thaw cycle? Try soaking the pieces of rock for a few days in small (pint or smaller) containers of water, then put in the freezer for a few days and let freeze solid. Take out the frozen chunks and melt in hot water, then put the unbroken rocks back in the containers with fresh water and back into the freezer. Repeat as needed. That simulates natural weathering fairly well. A cracked fossil might split, but they shouldn't dissolve!

 

Caveat: My experience is with micro-matrix; I haven't tried extracting bigger than a couple of cubic millimeters. ;) Good luck!

 

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This arrived yesterday. :) 

 

I don't buy fossils often, and usually only if they are very inexpensive.

I saw this at auction, and put in the minimum bid - $ 5.00. I fully expected to be outbid. 

The auction ended, with me being the only bidder. Sweet.

I had always wanted a spiny trilobite from Nevada, but usually the prices soar rather quickly. 

These were not identified in the listing, which may have helped me win. ;) 

A small plate with 2 Zacanthoides typicalis trilobites - one positive and one negative.  

(My thanks for the ID on this goes to Scott! @piranha  Thank you, sir.)

 

Early to Middle Cambrian 

Pioche Shale Formation,

Pioche Nevada.

 

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    Tim    VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM APRIL - 2015  

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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16 hours ago, Mediospirifer said:

 

Nice looking matrix!

 

If the vinegar didn't do anything (minimal bubbles to be seen), then muriatic or other acids won't do much to the matrix either. If it bubbled a lot, but didn't appear to alter the rocks, that's typical for limestone--it takes repeated immersions to really get significant dissolution. I'd still be concerned for the fossils.

 

Have you tried using a freeze/thaw cycle? Try soaking the pieces of rock for a few days in small (pint or smaller) containers of water, then put in the freezer for a few days and let freeze solid. Take out the frozen chunks and melt in hot water, then put the unbroken rocks back in the containers with fresh water and back into the freezer. Repeat as needed. That simulates natural weathering fairly well. A cracked fossil might split, but they shouldn't dissolve!

 

Caveat: My experience is with micro-matrix; I haven't tried extracting bigger than a couple of cubic millimeters. ;) Good luck!

 

facepalm!!!

 

I knew I was forgetting something! Matter of fact, I have a baggie of Turonian age matrix (thanks Mike!) thats been freezing for a year so I do know about freeze/thaw but I forgot! Thanks!

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:popcorn: John

I had a friend once, but the wheels fell off. Sad, very sad. - Nightwing

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I've been trying to budget a little better as of late, but this little guy and his not so complete friend were such a good deal I couldn't pass it up! Here's my latest score from a land far far away. The smaller, complete Eurypterid is about 3" long.

 

Balteurypterus tetragonophtalmus: Silurian. Podolski Region, Ukraine

 

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A package from the Netherlands is always a good thing :)

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Inside is one of my favourite shark species, Isurus escheri, showing varying degrees of protoserrations.

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On 3/3/2017 at 8:40 PM, JohnBrian said:

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Looks like it could be a tendon.

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Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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Cool topic!

I'm expecting something soon, which I will post as soon as I get it.

So far, I am very impressed with everything people received! :o

 

Max

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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On 2/27/2017 at 1:38 AM, gigantoraptor said:

A denversaurus schlessmani tooth from Montana, Hell creek is my last purchase. 

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Great tooth! I saw it for sale some time ago, and I really wanted to get it, but the bids were just a bit too much...

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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