4.5 - 5 Inch Megalodon Tooth On Calcite Matrix

[digit]

In a petrifying fountain ?

Would make a terrible fountain of youth, wouldn't it?

-Ken

[Fossil_Rocks]

Great conversation piece but my Skept-o-meter is pegged at 11 (though this would be spectacular were it found to be real).

I'd first pick up a UV light bulb at a big box home improvement store--not particularly expensive or hard to find. See if a UV scan lights up anything suspicious. My vote would be for a half meg tooth attached to a block of calcite. The two-toned nature of the mineral could be natural but it just seems to me (not having the opportunity to have the specimen in hand) that the more tan material is suspiciously surrounding the "embedded" tooth. If a UV assist does not conclusively show signs of assembly I'm wondering if something like this is too dense to show any detail through medical imaging? If no signs of the mirror half of the tooth can be detected inside the block then I'd say that confirms an intriguing fake.

Even if it comes from less than authentic provenance, I'd still enjoy displaying this ingenious "upgrade" of a fraglodon.

Here is a somewhat related image that is both 100% authentically real and yet completely man-made.

DSC_3896.jpg

Anybody care to guess where I took this photo?

Cheers.

-Ken

Thanks for all the comforting remarks. I should have been visiting this site long ago, to share my interests. However, instead of licking my chops, it looks like I'll be licking my wounds.

I took this thing out in the sunlight today, which is where I should have started, and the "glue" seems more apparent in spots, but whoever did this, went to extreme measures to conseal his handiwork, blending in the frosting with the rest of the real cake .... ever so daintily.

It took an unbelievable amoujnt of patience to do this, and I agree that in the sunlight, it appears more evident that this tooth likely sits in a virtual moat of frosting.

I'm still shaking my head at how some of this work was done, but the color of the orange frosting reminds me a bit of the Mosasaur jaws they produce in Morocco.

I have one of these, actually, which I bought knowing it was fake, because I still thought it was cool and somewhat representative of a real jaw with the teeth. In other words, I told myself that it was just for showing off to my non collecting family and friends.

Does anyone believe this story about me knowing the Mosasaur jaw in matrix was fake, in advance? If you do, then we're friends for life. .

I wonder sometimes if the entire country of Morocco is orange.

Thanks for the advice on where to get a UV light bulb, I should have considered easier options. I'm also now almost too embarrased to visit the hospital radiology ward, because I can't see breaking their boredom with laughter, as worth my time.

Whoever produced this work of art, he probably thought use a glue that contains something that flouresces too. In fact, I'm thinking that the frosting might be fluorite, which means it will fluoresce.

As my wife tried to console me today, when I talked to her after having this in the sun for awhile, she said ... "it's a beautiful fake, and at least you didn't pay too much for it." Her grin when she got home almost made the whole thing worthwhile. Rarely does she get to see the proverbial "know it all," looking so foolish, and of course she was standing by my side when I bought the thing, without a word of caution.

The one big question that remains in my mind is .... it still looks like a land tooth, and an amazing one at that, even it's only partlal.

Edited July 1, 2014 by Fossil_Rocks

[digit]

As my wife tried to console me today, when I talked to her after having this in the sun for awhile, she said ... "it's a beautiful fake, and at least you didn't pay too much for it." Her grin when she got home almost make the whole thing worthwhile, in and of itself. Rarely does she get to see the proverbial "know it all," looking so foolish, and of course she was standing by my side when I bought the thing, without a word of caution.

The wife sounds like a real keeper... (is that the chorus from the song "Stand By Your Man" I hear playing quietly in the background?)....

I'd still keep the matrix-ized meg. You can claim to everybody you know (who isn't on TFF) that you spotted this fake straight away but had to buy it for its craftsmanship and ingenuity. Like Piltdown Man, it may be synthesized but it is still a beautiful conversation piece--and a reminder when considering future purchases. And I think your next purchase should be something for the wife for her unwavering support.

Cheers.

-Ken

Edited July 1, 2014 by digit

[digit]

Here is a somewhat related image that is both 100% authentically real and yet completely man-made.

DSC_3896.jpg

Anybody care to guess where I took this photo?

For the record this was taken in the Tawali skull cave in the Milne Bay area of the eastern tip of Papua New Guinea. These were headhunted skulls that once adorned the huts of the (formerly headhunting peoples) in the area. When the missionaries came to the area many years ago they told the locals they could no longer practice headhunting and had to dispose of all their trophies. Rather than toss the skulls in the forest or out in the ocean they took them to a secret cave that only they (and not the missionaries) knew about. Over the generations the few who knew where the skulls now reside had died off and the secret with them (for a while). The cave was rediscovered generations later and the limestone flowstone has permanently cemented many of the hundreds of skulls firmly in place. It's an odd and rather goulish tourist destination.

Cheers.

-Ken

[Auspex]

It seems that "Megs-stuck-in-things" has become an art genera...

Whoever created this one was pretty good; only the geological unlikelihood raised the flags.

[Fossil_Rocks]

The wife sounds like a real keeper... (is that the chorus from the song "Stand By Your Man" I hear playing quietly in the background?)....

I'd still keep the matrix-ized meg. You can claim to everybody you know (who isn't on TFF) that you spotted this fake straight away but had to buy it for its craftsmanship and ingenuity. Like Piltdown Man, it may be synthesized but it is still a beautiful conversation piece--and a reminder when considering future purchases. And I think your next purchase should be something for the wife for her unwavering support.

Cheers.

-Ken

She actually has one tooth that I'm forbidden from selling. I bought it from Ari at the Fossil Gallery, so of course it looks like a piece of jewelry, as his skills as a polisher are unmatched.

A word to the wise, if your pyrite bourlettes ever go dim after a few years, all you need is a little toothpaste and some very mild mannered scrubbing, and miracles can occur.

It's recommended that pyrite be kept perfectly dry for life, but how easy is that when you live where Spanish Moss covers every tree, and washing your car is a hopeless effort.

Here's her only tooth.

Before I knew much about pyritized teeth, I used to believe they were fakes. I still wonder sometimes if some of them are, but so many have iron sulfide as a replacement mineral, it makes sense they would be real, especially given how many teeth smell of sulfur.

I've actually been told that I could sell this for the right price, but I doubt I would ever get enough to make either of us happy.

[calhounensis]

I've heard a lot about pyritized teeth, but have never researched them or seen one in person. I'm unfamiliar with the process, has pyrite actually replaced the whole tooth or just the bourlette?

[digit]

That's a sweetheart of a tooth. I'd faint dead away if that ever appeared in my sifting screen.

I'm guessing your prize teeth tend to become like "children" after a while and would be hard to part with.

Cheers.

-Ken

[Fossil_Rocks]

I've heard a lot about pyritized teeth, but have never researched them or seen one in person. I'm unfamiliar with the process, has pyrite actually replaced the whole tooth or just the bourlette?

Pyrite(iron sulfide) is a common replacement mineral in fossils. I've got one tooth, where the root glitters under magnification, but I think that one is replaced by hematite, which is iron oxide.

With respect to the enamel, here's an interesting source. This is why you can polish the enamel of megalodon teeth without doing much damage.

"5. The enamel of teeth is remarkably durable over geologic time. The proteins in the dentine darken with heat but the mineral of the teeth - apatite - remains unchanged."

Edited July 2, 2014 by Fossil_Rocks

[Fossil_Rocks]

That's a sweetheart of a tooth. I'd faint dead away if that ever appeared in my sifting screen.

I'm guessing your prize teeth tend to become like "children" after a while and would be hard to part with.

Cheers.

-Ken

I'd be happy to part with quite a few, actually, as my life's priorities have changed.

My crown jewel, which is my avatar, I'll admit is a tough one to part with. Howevver, I've recently been offered enough to make me seriously consider parting ways.

More than one source has told me that it is the most beautiful six inch tooth to ever come out of the PCS mine at Aurora, and if there is a better one, I'd like to see it. It has a half tumb sized repair to the upper right lobe of the root, which doesn't affect the six inch status, but otherwise that's it.

There are stories about this one that remind me of the Hope Diamond, except without the dreaded curse.

I admit to giving pet names to a few. I call this one "My Precious," and "Big Blue."

Here are some good photos of it.

I would never ship it overseas, and if I don't sell it, I may donate it to the Aurora Museum. Most of my family is buried about two miles from that mine, and I would do it in memory of my grandfather, who barely survived a couple of hurricanes, which hit that area in the late 1800's. It wasn't the water that almost killed him, it was starvation.(an amazing and miraculous story,):

Edited July 2, 2014 by Fossil_Rocks

[digit]

With respect to the enamel, here's an interesting source. This is why you can polish the enamel of megalodon teeth without doing much damage.

"5. The enamel of teeth is remarkably durable over geologic time. The proteins in the dentine darken with heat but the mineral of the teeth - apatite - remains unchanged."

I've always snickered a little bit at the fact that the phosphate mineral that makes up tooth enamel is called 'apatite' (being a homophone for 'appetite')--an unintended humorous coincidence.

BTW: "Big Blue" is indeed precious and it would have to be dire circumstances to make me want to part ways with that beauty.

Cheers.

-Ken

[paleosuperdave]

I would like , If possible, to see some pics of the bottom side of the piece. By the looks of the proportions of the tooth, if it is a complete tooth , it would be slightly visible if not exposed at the bottom . Skeptical but very intrigued. Thanks

[caldigger]

It is easy to explain... the shark obviously slipped, fell and lost the tooth while on a spelunking adventure in an active cavern. The crystals merely grew on and around the tooth.

Could you imagine the size of bag the Meg tooth fairy has to lug around?

[Fossil_Rocks]

I'm still trying to find a cheap ultraviolet light bulb. I've struck out at the Home Depot's and Lowe's, as someone here suggested.

I remain very curious about the portion of the tooth that we can actually see, as I haven't found anything quite like it. The shape is also a bit odd, but it's a real tooth. If it's a partial, someone picked a heck of a partial to use, as I've yet to recall an apparent land-find of this color, and I've been collecting for 15+ years.

The mystery continues ...

Edited September 13, 2014 by Fossil_Rocks

[creto]

You can get one at pet stores. They are used to locate pet urine inside the house.

[Fossil_Rocks]

You can get one at pet stores. They are used to locate pet urine inside the house.

lol I thought at first you were pulling my leg, but then I thought about it.