Fossil Collections

[Webby]

I've been browsing the forums for quite a while now and I keep seeing so many impressive collections all over this site. What I'm wondering is who's been surfing the internet and who's been getting dirty in the feild. I'm not saying one type of collector is better than the other for I can surely respect both, but simply asking what people's personal opinion are on collecting. I for example will never buy a sharks tooth nor accept one as a gift, for me it's all about the adventure and stories that go along with what I find. I like being able to share with someone where, how, and what it took for me to find fossil chill'n in your hand.

What say ewe!

Edited June 23, 2011 by Webby

[Auspex]

I collect and study bird fossils; would that I could self-collect them, but without my network for their purchase, the collection would be pretty small

[Ludwigia]

The vast majority of my collection is made up of my own finds from field and fount. Lately though, I do some trading or accept gifts for preparation or cut and polish work done which fill in the gaps in the lagerstätten collections. I'm concentrating now on getting a good cross section from some of my favorite sites and if I don't have the luck to find the rarities myself then I'm happy to get them another way even if I end up buying them sometimes in the end, although I do prefer it when the objects were found by people I know.

Roger

PS. Wouldn't it be easier to eat sushi?

Edited June 23, 2011 by Ludwigia

[Bullsnake]

All mine are found by me, but I'm not adverse to buying something that is beyond my means to collect.

Sadly, some must resort to buying where collecting is not allowed, or perhaps health issues restrict their ability.

It's about the love of the hobby and good clean fun!

I have to say that I agree about the adventure, and excitement of the finds though.

[tracer]

umm, 98.73% of my fossils are self-wrangled, but i've got a couple or six that i paid moolah for in that i wanted them and they don't grow where i hunt. as far as not accepting gifted fossils, particularly rare and purty ones, that seems like an unreasonable posture for me to adopt, so i'll continue to entertain any and all offers for tokens of others' high esteem, particularly highly valuable and liquid ones.

[RickNC]

99% of mine is the result of my hard work looking for them.

[FossilForKids]

I sold most of my "bought fossils to pay for my cross country trip. All of my Sharktooth Hill and Wheeler Shale fossils were found by me. However since I need a bit of diversity for my kids programs I have no problem acquiring fossils through trade, purchase, and even donations.

FFK

[Cerbios]

I'm new to collecting but so far I've been collecting my own fossils, and while my militaria collection was built on the back of ebay I haven't even considered buying a fossils. A found fossil would always be better for me then a bought one. Even if the bought fossil was a much better specimen then one I could expect to find I would never enjoy simply having it, as well as one I discovered myself. However some exceptions, I would like to eventually have a collection that represents all the fossils found in my state. So, if down the road one rare example still eludes me I would consider buying one, and or If my collecting interests one day branch outside my locale, I could also see buying fossil examples only found in locales beyond my ability to travel too.

[vertman]

I agree with many of the comments expressed by others. I have a very large collection of self-collected specimens. To me, being able to identify what I would like to find then do research on where I am likely to find those things is a lot of fun. When I actually am able to find those things I am looking for, it is a great sense of satisfaction. I have occasionally traded, given fossils away, received as gifts, and even sold a few fossils. I do purchase fossils too. The more specialized I become the less likely I am to be able to personally find the vertebrae and ammonites I desire. I think both collecting and buying are great. My one fear is that I fear those of us who purchase fossils may encourage bad behavior on the part of those who will stop at nothing to make a buck.

[MikeDOTB]

Im definitely not against buying or trading. In fact I find its all part of the fossil collecting experience and a great way to grow/diversify your collection. But I will always prefer finding them. 98.24% (give or take .5%) of my fossil collection are personally found fossils. I have been given a few fossils as well.

[Fossildude19]

Good thread, Webby!

Thank you for starting it!

I am lucky enough to live in an area where I can find fossils. I also travel on vacations and days off to nearby localities, so, the majority of my collection is self collected.

I do, however trade, and purchase the occasional small fossil of interest.

I like being the first to see somethingthat hasn't been seen in millions of years!

It's a rush to find your own fossils, so I hope to be able to collect for a long time.

But, it is equally cool to receive a package in the mail, that contains things that were found with blood sweat and tears by a good friend!

Regards,

[MikeD]

Never say never.....

I have collected most of mine myself. I have also bought a few that I could never collect on my own, but once I saw them, I thought it sure would be nice of have one of those. I have had friends and relatives give me fossils that they have found. Some other friends have generously taken me collecting in their territory and then thrown fossils at me. They always say they are aiming for my bucket! Sometimes I have made a request for someone to bring me a bucket or bag of matrix from an area that they are visiting, so I can collect that spot without actually having been there. I have done the same for others. Occasionally, someone puts up something for an auction to help offset the forum costs. I have participated in some of those and received some great fossils from places that I will probably never make it to.

[BobWill]

I think the only thing I've searched out to buy was a piece of amber with insects to show the school kids for the "Fossil Bob" talks. I wanted to show all the forms fossils come in. The only other stuff I bought is what I got at the Dallas Paleo fund-raiser auctions. Got lucky there with some Xiphactinus jaw parts from a mystery bag. Sometimes my friends will stop at rock shops when traveling and bring a gift back for me. My largest shark tooth is a good example. Seems rude to ask them to take it back so I guess I'll have to hold on to it for now.

[Little_Foot]

I much prefer finding my own fossils (I'm a sucker for the adventure), but I am totally open to trades and gifts and am not adverse to buying something I do not have the means to find myself...at this point though, I'm feeling pretty invincible, and there's not a whole lot I'm convinced I will never be able to find.

That being said, I do purchase bags of spoils/microfossils/gravel from sites I don't have the means to travel to that still needs to be sifted and sorted. One of my nephews is 4, and just the smartest dang kid in the whole world, and he LOVES him some fossils. My sister won't let me take him out with me because he's so young, so we dig holes around the yard and fill them with the bags of stuff I get. Then we label them (like garden plants) so we know where they're from. Next weekend is the big dig weekend for us, and we have stuff from Kohl's Ranch, Winkelman, and Sharktooth Hill that we collected for him, and bags from the Peace River and Aurora that we paid some friends to collect for us. He's been learning what the time periods are for each spot and what he can expect to find and then we'll go dig around together and sit down and talk about what we've found. I also bought a couple beater megs to bury out there for him too. So I do buy stuff now, but mostly its so I don't have to loot my own collection too much for my dig weekends with the little guy.

[Terry Dactyll]

I think Roger hit the nail on the head really... Find your own first if you can but as a collector if something 'pop's up' that is either very rare or very high quality... grab it with both hands while you can...

[bt4]

I am an armchair fossil collector. I've never had the time, or financial resources to make a trip to North Africa. And unlike Paul Sereno, I couldn't get NatGeo to finance a trip for me. But I appreciate the wealth of fossil material from the Phosphate Plateau, the diversity and the great detail with which the deposits record ancient life. When I examine a perfectly preserved specimen of Paleocarcharodon orientalis, it in no way diminishes my appreciation that I didn't find it myself. Fossils are a window into a past, one that I enjoy exploring--whether its a piece of fossil coral or shark tooth I found scouring the coast, or the carefully prepped trilobite I bought at the last fossil show in the area.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

For me its about adventure and its fun to have momentos of the adventure on display, particularly my kid's finds, which receive priority display space. That connection is strongest for me with serendipitously self encountered relics and reliquiae, and the next closest connection is receiving a specimen as a gift where i witnessed the actual find. A lesser connection comes in the form of a gift of something from a site i've visited. beyond that its just a matter of scientific interest and aesthetics to me. I much prefer the personal connection to my collection. If i cant find it myself, i dont figure i particularly need it.

[cowsharks]

For me its about adventure and its fun to have momentos of the adventure on display, particularly my kid's finds, which receive priority display space. That connection is strongest for me ...

Bingo Dan! The very first fossils my sons ever found are in riker mounts, and we can look back at them and remember the day, the place, etc. when we found them together. They get top priority, and it makes them feel real good when they know Dad puts them first!

I think it's fairly unanimous that as collectors, we all prefer to find the fossils ourselves. Understandably there are limitations, whether they be physical, financial, geographical, etc, that can hamper our abilities to grow our collections in the manner that we would like. Therefore, options such as trading, buying, or gifting help fill in the gaps and allow us all to get those specimens that otherwise would have been out of our reach. The fossils that we find ourselves have stories and memories attached to them that we remember forever...at least I do. For some of the really spectacular finds in my collection I can tell you what year, what day, what time of day, the temperature and weather conditions, who was with me, where I found it, how the tooth was partially buried in the sand, how I first discovered it, etc. Those kinds of memories and stories you don't get with purchased fossils, but that's fine by me. I still buy stuff to help round out my collection, and I really enjoy getting a good bargain for stuff.

Nowadays, it's all about the hunt, especially when I take my sons along. Man, there aint nothin' better than that. We do a lot of talking, a lot of digging and sifting, and make memories to last a lifetime.

Daryl.

[amaltheus]

Like Terry says,finding your own is great,but to turn away a fossil which could form an important part of your collection would be verging on madness.Of course as long as its gained legite.

By the way,if you think why is this guy posting after being a member for so long?

Its because i have at last got a computer that doesnt run on elastic bands and my kids dont take quite so much of my money!!!! well not all of the time!!!!!

[MikeDOTB]

Well said Daryl, I forgot and didnt even think about the joy of the hunt. See, its been so long that I have collected I am forgeting what its like.

But as you said, all the major finds in my collection, even many of the smaller ones, i just have to see it and I can 99 percent of the time tell you the month I found it, the weather, the location, the formation, who was with me that day i found it. Half of collecting is the friends you make and the adventure and fun you have doing it. Not to mention just being outside and getting exercise.

I would take being soaked to the bone, covered in mud, in a creek, keeping an eye out for snakes, then playing a video game any day.

[RickNC]

Well said Daryl, I forgot and didnt even think about the joy of the hunt. See, its been so long that I have collected I am forgeting what its like.

But as you said, all the major finds in my collection, even many of the smaller ones, i just have to see it and I can 99 percent of the time tell you the month I found it, the weather, the location, the formation, who was with me that day i found it. Half of collecting is the friends you make and the adventure and fun you have doing it. Not to mention just being outside and getting exercise.

I would take being soaked to the bone, covered in mud, in a creek, keeping an eye out for snakes, then playing a video game any day.

I'm with this guy!

[Webby]

Wow everyone here have very cool reasons as to why and how they collect all of which I can agree with. I think I really like Little_foot's way of how she recycles her teeth to hook younger kids into the fossiling hobby.

[redbrick]

I used to say that I was a "personal collector only" person, until this last vacation. See, I was in this little souvenir shop on the banks of Loch Ness, see, and they had one of those "Minerals of the World" displays. You know the ones, they offer pyrite, quartz crystals, hematite, etc., and this one had orthoceras and stephanoceras for two pounds each. Anyway, I was suffering a need for a fossil fix and had a few pounds floatin' around in my pocket....

Usually, I prefer to gather my own, for two reasons. First, I prefer the thrill of the hunt, and the memories that go with it. Second, it's an awful lot easier on my checkbook, lol! The main drawback to that is I don't find a whole lot of spectacular specimens in my area, mainly ferns or brachiopods. Doesn't stop me, though!

Edited July 2, 2011 by redbrick

[scott1428]

Hi,98% of my collection I found myself, but I have purchased ones that I would never have a chance to collect myself just because of the distance and time involved. Ive never traded fossils though. I have gotten one as a gift.