Conzo Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Hi guys! I'm completely new to fossils and wanted to buy my sister a tooth. I found a cheap spino tooth listed as having a couple repairs, no restorations and decided to buy her one for her birthday. It just came in and looks pretty good to me, but thought I should ask about it here just to get a bit more information about it. Does it look like a single tooth or different teeth glued together? It looks like it was glued together but I cant tell much more than that. I would greatly appreciate any help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Andy- Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 I say it's a composite of two different teeth, sorry. It's not a clean joint; you see the thickness varies between the top and the bottom. Also, the coloration is slightly different. Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conzo Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 That sucks to hear I did assume that when I first saw it but now I'm not so sure. The coloration is much more consistent now that I'm looking at it under proper light that isnt my phone flash, but I might just be seeing what I want to see. Are there any techniques to be certain? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordTrilobite Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 I think this is not a composite. I think this is a single tooth that is just poorly repaired. It's definitely two pieces that have been glued together. But I think it's from one tooth because a number of patterns seem to line up perfectly. Most convincingly, the two edges line up perfectly both in shape and preservation. Even some enamel damage and grooves seem to match up. I think the offset seen in the first and last photo is because it was not repaired perfectly. I do not see the colour difference Andy is reporting. Teeth like this are normally darker at the tip compared to the base. For a cheap tooth I think this is a pretty good one. Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 I agree with LordTrilobite it does not appear to be a composite. The vertical ridges line up on both sides of the repair. One can easily see it in this photo. The ridge on the top arrow continues past the break and ditto the bottom one. Nice gift, hopfully she enjoys it. Composites are common with material from Morocco but typically found on higher end items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Andy- Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 4 hours ago, Conzo said: That sucks to hear I did assume that when I first saw it but now I'm not so sure. The coloration is much more consistent now that I'm looking at it under proper light that isnt my phone flash, but I might just be seeing what I want to see. Are there any techniques to be certain? Thanks! Troodon is much more experienced than me in this matter. If he says it's not a composite, it isn't Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pemphix Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 +1 for not being a composite like Troodon argumented Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelhead9 Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Don't want to throw in a monkey wrench, but I think I have to side with Andy on this one. It appears to me that the tip section is from an ever-so-slightly bigger tooth than the bottom section. It also appears that the flat section on the edge that matches so well may have been ground down just to make this matchup. The width of the flat strip should decrease towards the tip, but it stays the same. Also seems like a pretty wide area of repair for a tooth that was simply broken. The seller stated no restoration, but one side of the tip is clearly restored. Still Life Fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 I think there is a pretty good match across the break and equally important is that the vertical ridges line up which is hard to fake. The matrix along the carinae on both edges distort the view on the top photo.. I also agree with the seller saying no resto just repair.. Might be terminology but in my mind resto trying to bring something back to an original look which was not done here. The tooth was just repaired, poorly, to join the broken pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBrewer Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Spino teeth this size are common and cheap. Lots of teeth from Morocco are repaired roughly. I doubt this is a composite, not financially worthwhile. John Map of UK fossil sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conzo Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 Thanks everyone for the input! A lot of mixed opinions, so Im not entirely sure what to believe. Though, after looking at it carefully, the biggest indication that it isn't a composite to me is the patterns and grooves in the enamel matching in both pieces like LordTrilobite mentioned. It's a bit hard to see, but in the top photo I posted, there's damage/groove running along the middle of the tooth that continues onto the tip. I can feel it too. Disclosure: Theres a 99% chance I have no clue what Im talking about haha I don't know much about restoration and repairs though :/ I thought repairs were pretty much just gluing pieces back together whereas restorations are fabricated parts not belonging to the original teeth? Again, thanks heaps for the help guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Andy- Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 1 hour ago, Conzo said: Thanks everyone for the input! A lot of mixed opinions, so Im not entirely sure what to believe. Though, after looking at it carefully, the biggest indication that it isn't a composite to me is the patterns and grooves in the enamel matching in both pieces like LordTrilobite mentioned. It's a bit hard to see, but in the top photo I posted, there's damage/groove running along the middle of the tooth that continues onto the tip. I can feel it too. Disclosure: Theres a 99% chance I have no clue what Im talking about haha I don't know much about restoration and repairs though :/ I thought repairs were pretty much just gluing pieces back together whereas restorations are fabricated parts not belonging to the original teeth? Again, thanks heaps for the help guys! Ultimately, we can only read from pictures. You are the one best suited to judge its authenticity because you can see and touch it. Your terminology is correct - repair doesn't add anything artificial; gluing two pieces back is correct. Restoration could mean fabricated parts, or parts from other fossils. Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelhead9 Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 The restoration I referred to is not the repair to the break. If you look at the tip of the tooth in the fourth photo in the original post there appears to be a significant area of restoration to the tip on this side. I agree that many of the grooves seem to line up on the 2 halves, but I am still troubled by the appearance of the enamel in the flat area Troodon indicated with arrows as well as the fact that this area does not get narrower as the tooth decreases in size towards the tip. Still Life Fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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