intenex Posted August 19, 2023 Share Posted August 19, 2023 (edited) Hi all! Just purchased a large (17lb) ammonite on an online auction site; my first time getting one and even after reading a lot of the comments here about them I still have no confidence in my own ability to assess how real this thing is and how much of it is carved if it is real. Would love any guidance! Thanks so much! Edited August 19, 2023 by intenex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted August 19, 2023 Share Posted August 19, 2023 Welcome to the Forum. I think this is a real Moroccan ammonite, with possibly some restoration in a few areas. These are often have the middle whorls carved out, as they are sometimes missing, or damaged. Better, larger, more in focus pictures of the centers of each side would help with assessing how much of this is restored, if at all. 4 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted August 19, 2023 Share Posted August 19, 2023 I agree with Tim. Otherwise it looks fine to me. Did the seller give you information on the provenance, i.e. stratigraphy and location? 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted August 19, 2023 Share Posted August 19, 2023 It's been fiddled with to a small extent. But I think it's really rather nice and a lot better than many I've seen. I'd be very happy with that in my collection. Every museum in the world is full of copies, casts and touch-ups. Can't see the problem, myself. 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterpillar Posted August 19, 2023 Share Posted August 19, 2023 I think it's a Kranaosphinctes from oxfordian of Madagascar with some repairs 1 1 http://www.paleotheque.fr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intenex Posted August 19, 2023 Author Share Posted August 19, 2023 Thank you so much for all the incredible help all! Whew, this is really relieving to hear. The seller didn't include any information about the ammonite at all and it was clearly being sold by someone who doesn't exactly specialize in fossils so much as they do crystals lol. Thankfully they did seem to take some pretty detailed pictures - attaching all the pictures they took in case it's helpful for a little more investigation. As a question - how can you tell what's restored on this versus not restored? Are there clear telltale signs to look for? I've seen on other postings sometimes really quick shoddy work is much more shallowly carved, but curious if there's a general guide to this stuff! Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now