Dicranurus Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 I have collected fossils over 6 years, but shark teeth only a couple months. I have now ca. 50-60 different shark teeth and I’m wondering what is a good shark teeth collection? What matters? Number of different shark species, quantity/quality of teeth or size of teeth? I’m trying to focus only collect different species. Here is more my shark teet. http://www.flickr.com/photos/joravisjarvi/...57618069471787/ "It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living." -Sir David Attenborough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 The beauty of private collections is that they only have to satisfy the owner. Personally I'd place a premium on quality and rarity over quantity and size. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 Very nice selection..... and quality always beats quantity..... I agree.... some people collect specific fossils from a certain layer.... usually close to where they live, this adds too being of 'local interest'.... Thanks for showing them .... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Menser Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 I may get in trouble here, but I can never understand why anyone has to have 10,000 of the same thing. Quality, variation and location are the big three in my book. For example, this 1" Mako tooth came from Spain. Not the most impressive one in my collection, but I found it myself, which makes it priceless. You have some cool teeth there, and I like the little Diplomystus behind them. Be true to the reality you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicranurus Posted July 14, 2009 Author Share Posted July 14, 2009 I may get in trouble here, but I can never understand why anyone has to have 10,000 of the same thing. Quality, variation and location are the big three in my book. For example, this 1" Mako tooth came from Spain. Not the most impressive one in my collection, but I found it myself, which makes it priceless. I have same problem. I have never understand why some private collectors have for example 70 enrolled Calymene breviceps or 34 Phacops rana from same locations. Nice Mako tooth by the way. I agree also that quality (and rarity) of course beats quantity. I have always like the diversity. "It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living." -Sir David Attenborough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest N.AL.hunter Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 What you have is a bad shark's tooth collection. Now if you give them to me, they will become a good shark's tooth collection. All a matter of perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Sharks Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 I agree with the others that condition is top priority, especially if you're buying. If you find them yourself, take what you can get. When I first started, I was going to collect only teeth over 2". That made for some nice sized specimens, but the species variety was limited. Since then, I'm happier to acquire a new species (any size) or at least a new location instead of a big tooth of a species and location I already have. Check out my gallery to see the majority of my collection. Variety is the spice of life There's no limit to what you can accomplish when you're supposed to be doing something else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 Kinda' like coin collecting: denomination (species), mint mark (origin), condition, color tone.... How one organizes a collection suggests new goals, too. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THobern Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Forget about polished teeth; they're jewelry, nothing more. Don't buy repaired teeth unless you know what you're getting into; you're aware of resale values, you don't think that you want to pay for a comparable unrepaired specimen etc. Apart from that, buy what you like, but don't buy lots of one thing at a time. While it may excite you at the time, your tastes will change and you'll wish you hadn't wasted the money on teeth that aren't of any great interest. You many get this when you discover big meg teeth - the initial temptation will be to buy as many teeth as you can, but you'll soon realise that you would have prefered to buy fewer, nicer specimens, and that the mass of battered teeth doesn't really appeal. As people have mentioned before, you'll find an speciality within shark teeth; species, size, locality, pathology etc. I collect teeth with pathologies and teeth from rare locations (you might get a kick out of a thread I recently posted on these teeth). You'll soon find your niche, but remember in the mean time to only buy teeth that appeal to you and that you can resell once your tastes change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I have now ca. 50-60 different shark teeth and I’m wondering what is a good shark teeth collection? What matters? Number of different shark species, quantity/quality of teeth or size of teeth? I’m trying to focus only collect different species. As a shark tooth collector, I say a good collection contains a wide variety of species with an attempt made to gather a decent selection from at least one deposit known for its diversity (Bone Valley, Sulphur River, Egem, Maastrictian of Morocco, etc.). You might also start collecting modern jaws for reference to help you understand the variations in jaw position within some groups and the lack thereof in others. As you educate yourself and learn from others, you will get an idea of what's rare and what isn't (whether in general or at a particular site) and what's nearly impossible to find complete. The Texas shark collectors will tell you that Polyacrodus teeth are rarely found with another level of rarity for a complete one (especially P. illingsworthi). I have kept my eyes open for one but don't even have a partial one from Texas. However, when I had a chance to trade for a nice crown missing much of the root from Russia, I made that deal, and when I had a chance to buy about 60% of one from Kazakhstan (complete main cusp and crown with root on one side), I made that purchase because I knew how hard they are to get from Texas. I don't think I've seen any others available since. It isn't always about quality. The other side of that coin is that some species are common in one deposit but not often seen in others. Otodus obliquus is abundant in the Late Paleocene and especially the Early Eocene of Morocco but rather uncommon in the Nanjemoy Formation and the London Clay. You might prefer to acquire your collection piece from Morocco but maybe pick up one from an "oddball" locality later. The other thing about collecting sharks is that most species have teeth less than an inch in height so you can assemble a decent collection over time rather cheaply and without taking up too much storage space. Of course, it helps to live not too far from a good shark deposit where you can find your own stuff and trade your extras for species you don't have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I have collected fossils over 6 years, but shark teeth only a couple months. I have now ca. 50-60 different shark teeth and I’m wondering what is a good shark teeth collection? What matters? Number of different shark species, quantity/quality of teeth or size of teeth? I’m trying to focus only collect different species. Here is more my shark teet. http://www.flickr.com/photos/joravisjarvi/...57618069471787/ I just looked at your photo. That's a nice start and it reminds me of another thing: always try to obtain only teeth with good locality info. This is where digging your own teeth helps. You can't help it if someone gives you a tooth from "the Carolinas or Florida, I think" but go for teeth with good labels. My shark tooth collection started in 1987 (though I didn't really think of it like that then) with two makos I bought at the Nature Company. I didn't know where they were from nor their names and only later realized they were from the Middle Miocene of Bakersfield, where I started digging a year later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I may get in trouble here, but I can never understand why anyone has to have 10,000 of the same thing. Quality, variation and location are the big three in my book. For example, this 1" Mako tooth came from Spain. Not the most impressive one in my collection, but I found it myself, which makes it priceless. Is that tooth from the Rota area? I have a tooth with that kind of preservation from there. Yes, the self-collected teeth are priceless. I tend to keep every most-of-a-tooth I find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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