aeon.rocks Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Hi, I found this trilobites online and decided to attach a few photos here to show examples of trilobites anyone should avoid buying - unless priced really cheap, I wouldn't pay 10$ for any of these.. This is a mix of fakes and real trilobites - very quick prepared probably 20 years ago - quality to AVOID AT ALL COSTS to avoid buying fakes! Loss of some details in the process of preparation is understandable, but when prepared too quick like this it's just a rock and not worth 500$! If only people buying moroccan trilobites did some research (all it takes is to copy paste the name of the species into google and browse through some photos to see more detailed prepared examples)... Some of you bidding on this? Someone just won this 4.7" butchered Psychopyge for 518$ from a seller in Wisconsin in USA! So much for honest USA sellers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeon.rocks Posted April 5, 2018 Author Share Posted April 5, 2018 Here we go with some more fakes and partialy heavily restored devonian trilobites. Psychopyge fake, Comura fake, heavily damaged Hollardops for 40$, Dicranurus fake... All specimens resold by sellers in USA, France, Spain, UK! If you look closer to the problem you will notice greedy resellers and resellers with lack of knowledge, everybody can be a f*** fossil reseller nowadays! But let's blame the scam on Moroccan sellers, although these couldn't be more obvious example of fakes and poor quality to anyone who held some trilobites in hand already. The real scam artists are usually in USA and EU! Is it so impossible to think these resellers in USA, UK, France, Spain got such trilobites as a gift or purchased this junk for close to 1$ by Moroccan sellers, with disclosed information about what these are, but are trying to make a profit? I know for some of you the source is the problem, but hey, professionalism of the distribution is just as bad in any case... And some of these resellers sell fossils for a living! So in case these resellers are not scamming buyers, I wonder how they got these in the first place... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeon.rocks Posted April 5, 2018 Author Share Posted April 5, 2018 Here are some more fake examples from resellers in USA and EU. But funny, not sold on our favourite auction site by Moroccan sellers: Psychopyge fake again, Zlichovaspis fakes, Moroccops fake or butchered close to the unrecognisable condition. And a real butchered Hypsipariops which is sold labeled as a FANTASTIC DROTOPS! In truth it's butchered trilobite, not something that should be priced high! Even for a low price I wouldn't buy a Hypsipariops from a seller who markets it as a Drotops even if it was nicer preped! No matter the prices, who buys this junk? Oh, did I forget to add pyrite trilobites from Morocco? Avoid at all costs, there are other examples of real nicer bugs around for about the same price! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeon.rocks Posted April 5, 2018 Author Share Posted April 5, 2018 Here you go: Real bug with fake color - brass wire brush used to give it pyrite shine and catch a higher price or as a well known seller of these from UK would say: "additional preparation that causes the pyritous molecules in the surface of the limestone cuticle to become excited and reflect light in a particular way". I doubt these were even brass wire brushed in Morocco, if I had to bet, I would guess it was "additional preparation" in UK! But blame it on the Moroccan people... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeon.rocks Posted April 5, 2018 Author Share Posted April 5, 2018 More examples of obvious fake trilobites from Morocco, mold made fakes of Achantopyge, Psychopyge and Dicranurus. In my experience sold by Moroccans very cheap and with disclosed information that they are reproductions. There are always bad apples among sellers everywhere, but from listings of USA and EU resellers selling these for high price it seems the basket full of fruit is spoiled in USA and EU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeon.rocks Posted April 5, 2018 Author Share Posted April 5, 2018 Now my last post, then you are welcome to add as you please. What do all of these avoid at all costs trilobites and fakes examples have in common? The lack of detail on skin (like tinny tuberculation you notice if you zoom in or individual eye lenses etc) and careful prep. As in example of real Psychopyge and Dicranurus below. These are not cheap, takes a lot of time to prep and rare to find, so don't expect to pay 50$ for one of these... But please don't spend 500$ on a fake one neither! Ask resellers in USA and EU to send you good close up photos and step by step preparation photos if you are spending a lot of money... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DatFossilBoy Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Yeah I know... Shamefull. 500$ for a fake trilobite. Thanks for telling possible buyers. Kind regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laditz Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Always good to show example fakes to inform people on what they shouldn't be buying! Do I sense some anger in this topic.. haha There's so many bad apples. The people in morocco who are faking these (some may sell them as repro, some just scamming people out of money), the resellers all over the world who know better but still listing these as real.. even the greedy online buyers who snatch these up without even checking it twice. All a bit to blame. Do feel sorry for the people without any knowledge, buying these for way too much money as gifts or at fares. Edit: Those last ones are gorgeous btw! Yours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Who is buying them - good question. People who are unaware, I guess. People who haven't seen this thread.. I would not buy anything that looked as fishy as the examples you've given, certainly not for a 3-digit price. I can't bear to look at badly-prepped real ones, never mind fake ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xDiamondX Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 58 minutes ago, aeon.rocks said: Psychopyge Indeed, that one is clearly fake. You can see the join line running around the "specimen" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeon.rocks Posted April 5, 2018 Author Share Posted April 5, 2018 Quote Do I sense some anger in this topic.. haha Yes you do, because these all come from resellers in USA and EU who deal with fossils and antiques and were most likely purchased as copy in Morocco or very cheap! I am pretty sure at least some of these resellers know what they are selling... but it's easier to blame Moroccans! I made this topic because I was shocked to see the price on that bug, a junk piece in 1$ auction and it goes for 518$... From USA reseller! Not from Moroccans! And people complain about the price of quality prepared specimens! Quote There's so many bad apples. The people in morocco who are faking these (some may sell them as repro, some just scamming people out of money) Copies of fossils are made worldwide. But are usually sold as such... Nothing wrong with that. Fake trilobites in Morocco are usually sold for very low price and labeled as mold. It's a way for collectors to be able to afford a copy of trilobite specie that would otherwise cost 500-2000$ and a way for some Moroccan people without other possibilities of income to earn 10$. In my experience it's very safe to buy a copy from Moroccans, because they care about their reputation a lot more as some resellers in USA. Moroccans will usually sell a copy for a low price and tell you it's a copy, which are pretty obvious to a trained eye too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Good post. Who buys them well in the States it starts at major fossil shows like Tucson and Denver. Resellers buy them from Moroccan dealers and then they find their way to online stores, auctions, local fossil shows and small retail shops. Some experienced resellers know exactly what they are buying others get scammed. In the end the inexperienced collector get hurt. From the 2018 Tucson Show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laditz Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 4 minutes ago, Troodon said: Good post. Who buys them well in the States it starts at major fossil shows like Tucson and Denver. Resellers buy them from Moroccan dealers and then they find their way to online stores, auctions, local fossil shows and small retail shops. Some experienced resellers know exactly what they are buying others get scammed. In the end the inexperienced collector get hurt. From the 2018 Tucson Show Were these at least being sold as fakes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 6 minutes ago, Laditz said: Were these at least being sold as fakes? Hate to say No....they were just put out next to real fossils. Unfortunately lots of resellers know what they are buying Not sure if you saw my Tucson post, its lengthy but take a look at what was being sold the great and the ugly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laditz Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 18 minutes ago, Troodon said: Not sure if you saw my Tucson post, its lengthy but take a look at what was being sold the great and the ugly. Yep, really enjoyed some beautiful fossils you posted in that topic! Sad to see the fakes got in there too. Don't think I noticed any of these obvious fakes at the fossil-fare we had in NL last month, but surely there must have been some.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JarrodB Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 I'm actually ashamed to say I bought a large pieced together one years ago for $175. People buy fake stuff all the time from shoes to trilobites lol. Knowledge is power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 The last time i went to Arizona i took along my x10 opti-visor. Checked out lots and lots of fake stuff. its also amazing just how good some of these fakes are! RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-fossils Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 3 hours ago, Laditz said: Don't think I noticed any of these obvious fakes at the fossil-fare we had in NL last month, but surely there must have been some.. 1 Was it the PaleoTime-NL fair at Ede? 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laditz Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 1 minute ago, Max-fossils said: Was it the PaleoTime-NL fair at Ede? Yes, it was Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-fossils Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Just now, Laditz said: Yes, it was Ah nice, I was there too. There were a few fakes here and there (I think I also saw one or two restored megs) but there definitely not many, they were very scarce. Most of the sellers there are people that are just trying to get rid of their old collections or empty their cellar/attic. Which results in a good variety of stuff and not many fakes. 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laditz Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 11 minutes ago, Max-fossils said: Ah nice, I was there too. There were a few fakes here and there (I think I also saw one or two restored megs) but there definitely not many, they were very scarce. Most of the sellers there are people that are just trying to get rid of their old collections or empty their cellar/attic. Which results in a good variety of stuff and not many fakes. To be honest, i didn't check the trilobites that were displayed there closely.. but they looked fine. One of the other forum members here (at least think he was) had some nice looking ones from morocco at his booth, but he told me to stop grabbing all the fossils, haha.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-fossils Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Just now, Laditz said: To be honest, i didn't check the trilobites that were displayed there closely.. but they looked fine. One of the other forum members here (at least think he was) had some nice looking ones from morroco at his booth, but he told me to stop grabbing all the fossils, haha.. Hahaha, that must be Dries. I don't know if there were specifically any fake trilobites, as I was also not focused on that (I was scouting through all the bivalves that there were) but I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few fake trilo's too. 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeon.rocks Posted April 5, 2018 Author Share Posted April 5, 2018 7 hours ago, RJB said: The last time i went to Arizona i took along my x10 opti-visor. Checked out lots and lots of fake stuff. its also amazing just how good some of these fakes are! RB Yes, some commercialised fossil shows are full of fake fossils, but in general moroccan fakes of devonian trilobites are easy to spot. Composites like this Acanthopyge are more tricky to spot, but there is not a lot of such composition going on in Morocco as far as I know, at least not for common specie of devonian trilobites! Large cambrian trilobites are usually more problematic to find available 100% natural though. Acanthopyge is just a very rare specie that is known to be rarely found complete, so it pays off to be careful if you spend 4 figure number on one of those. And that is true aswell for Russian restoration or composition... But in general moroccan fakes/molds are not really good, common nonspiny species are not even worth faking. Hundreds of species like hollardops or smaller phacopsids found each year in Morocco. Composited fossils like Mosasaurus jaws are more problematic or heteromorph ammonites like in photo below, which are usually composited from real parts and placed in matrix, but those do not come from Morocco. Fakes are produced everywhere, even in AMNH museum! Morocco as the largest industry of fossils in the world is just the most known for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeon.rocks Posted April 14, 2018 Author Share Posted April 14, 2018 Avoid buying: worn, cheap fake or in preparation very damaged trilobites, save your money on better quality ones with details, exception being extremely rare species. Do your research and check details. Also important getting an accurate ID and complete location information with each specimen, it's usually a good rule to avoid resellers who don't know what they are selling. If possible ask sellers for step by step preparation photos of more expensive specimens. Here's a quick addition with a few more typical "fakes" added to the list: Multiple trilobites on flat base looking a lot like pizza, especially if species originate from different layers or periods composited together are always casts or composited! Usually these include Dicranurus cast. Not all multiple moroccan trilobite plates are fake, but "pizza" looking ones, most definitely 100% everytime! The same goes for large cambrian moroccan bugs, often heavily restored or faked.... Often confused for fake: ordovician Moroccan Flexicalymene (like the one photographed in hand below) are mostly real, but usually glued or restored or in bad condition... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 On 4/5/2018 at 11:41 AM, aeon.rocks said: Yes, some commercialised fossil shows are full of fake fossils, but in general moroccan fakes of devonian trilobites are easy to spot. Composites like this Acanthopyge are more tricky to spot, but there is not a lot of such composition going on in Morocco as far as I know, at least not for common specie of devonian trilobites! Large cambrian trilobites are usually more problematic to find available 100% natural though. Acanthopyge is just a very rare specie that is known to be rarely found complete, so it pays off to be careful if you spend 4 figure number on one of those. And that is true aswell for Russian restoration or composition... But in general moroccan fakes/molds are not really good, common nonspiny species are not even worth faking. Hundreds of species like hollardops or smaller phacopsids found each year in Morocco. Composited fossils like Mosasaurus jaws are more problematic or heteromorph ammonites like in photo below, which are usually composited from real parts and placed in matrix, but those do not come from Morocco. Fakes are produced everywhere, even in AMNH museum! Morocco as the largest industry of fossils in the world is just the most known for it. Composite heteromorph ammonites also occur in Morocco, Ancycloceras is one commonly put together. Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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