Percentage original?

[Valchion]

Hello,

 

I am wanting to purchase this Andalusiana trilobite. It is 9 inches long, positive and negative.  I know these are commonly heavily restored or completely fabricated.  I also know judging fabrication by a picture can be very difficult.  I was wondering if anyone could given me an approximate percentage of how much of this trilobite is original fossil.  They are asking ... for this piece and was wondering if this is a fair valuation.

 

Thank you

[digit]

4 hours ago, Valchion said:

They are asking ... for this piece and was wondering if this is a fair valuation.

We don't do evaluations here on the forum but I'm sure some folks here who are familiar with these types of trilobites will soon chime in to give their opinion on the quality of the fossils and if they believe they are modified in any way to make them look more presentable.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[piranha]

These are listed as: "Andalusiana Cambropallas" .. there is no such species, Andalusiana and Cambropallas are two distinct genera.  These are notoriously awful offerings mostly molded, fabricated and painted around some minuscule authentic parts.  In this case refer to the attached restoration map showing a close approximation of the authentic central portion and the other parts reconstructed from the imagination of the trilobite forgery specialist.  It is a decorative piece with absolutely zero scientific value.

 

[DPS Ammonite]

Here is a similar one from TFF that has that weird carved look along the bottom edge of the trilobite. I doubt for the “...” price you could get a nice, mostly original trilobite of that size.

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/63077-cambropallas-andalusiana-trilobites-are-often-faked-what-about-positives-negatives/

 

 

Here is an expensive scientific grade one that looks pretty good and it claimed to only have minor repair. Note that the edges do not look carved.