Need tips for recognizing a fake keichousaurus at a fossil fair

[ziggycardon]

Hi, next month I am going to Paleotime, a fossil fair in Belgium and I am hoping to find a Keichousaurus fossil.
Now I know their are lots of fakes out there (although after doing some reading on this forum most of them I came to the understanding most of them aren’t entirely faked, just enhanced, painted and composites)

And I am going to be honest, I don’t really care that much if the Keichou is a little bit enhanced of painted. But I hope to find a specimen that is at least 75 % or more authentic.

So I was hoping if you guys could give me some tips as to what I should look for when I examine a specimen I hope to buy, cause since I will buy it at the fair, I won’t be able to post picture here during the process.

I know that these are some of the thing I already have to look for to enhance the chance of getting an authentic one

·         Missing bones

·         Broken bones

·         Strange or akward poses

·         Imperfections (fake always try to be as beautiful and perfect as possible)

·         Calcite cracks running through the skeleton

·         Looking for detailing in the skull like teeth and obvious skull fragments

·         Looking for paint with a magnifying glass

·         Taking a picture and doing a negative to see paint mischief

·         Looking for 3D relief on the specimen

These are the things I know of the look for, but does anyone else have some tips for me on how to recognize it’s a genuine of faked piece.
I will also be taking my LED Mini microscope 60x for on the phone with me for closer examination.

Thanks in advance!

[snolly50]

I believe you are well-armed to make an informed decision. As you are aware, keich are common fossils and I believe the constant inquiries about authenticity seen on the Forum are fueled by a comparably small number of outright fakes offered for sale.  With multiple pieces available for scrutiny at the same time, you will quickly learn what "it should look like." That is, what is the normal appearance. With your capability at magnification, you will easily winnow out any "over processed" pieces. Carving and especially paint are readily apparent even under 10X. Good luck, have fun.

[Bobby Rico]

I am with my friend Snolly you have all ready done some homework. Definitely take a magnifying loupe . Here is my keichousaurus it 100% genuine so maybe good to have a look at.

[DLB]

Ask for any befor pics if they preped them theres selfish. thats what im doing fithe the ones im prepping right now.

[ziggycardon]

2 hours ago, snolly50 said:

I believe you are well-armed to make an informed decision. As you are aware, keich are common fossils and I believe the constant inquiries about authenticity seen on the Forum are fueled by a comparably small number of outright fakes offered for sale.  With multiple pieces available for scrutiny at the same time, you will quickly learn what "it should look like." That is, what is the normal appearance. With your capability at magnification, you will easily winnow out any "over processed" pieces. Carving and especially paint are readily apparent even under 10X. Good luck, have fun.

Thanks, that makes me a little bit more self confident! 
I suppose I will ask first about all there is to know about the piece to the seller, like the history of the piece, are there restorations done, parts painted, etc. 
And then listen to what he says and then get my microscope to see if he was telling the truth and to look for oddballs, think that along the tips here will be the safest approach.  
 

2 hours ago, Bobby Rico said:

I am with my friend Snolly you have all ready done some homework. Definitely take a magnifying loupe . Here is my keichousaurus it 100% genuine so maybe good to have a look at.

Thank you for the image, I am definitely going to save that one to my phone when I go to the fair! 
Always a lot easier when there is something to compare with!

 

39 minutes ago, DLB said:

Ask for any befor pics if they preped them theres selfish. thats what im doing fithe the ones im prepping right now.

Yeah I will definitely ask about the history of the piece, although I believe most pieces for sale (if there will be any) will probably be from old collections. But I will definityly ask for prepping photos, would diffinitly be a plus if there are any.  
 

[gigantoraptor]

Well then, I guess I won't be the only one on the fossilforum who goes to PaleoTime. 

Last year all Keichousaurs on PaleoTime were in decent condition and mostly real. 

Regarding your question, you summed it up pretty well. One more thing I can think of is sometimes they the position of the head doesn't fit with the position of the body. I mean sometimes the upper part of the skull is visible, but the body lies on his back. This only happens naturaly when the neck is twisted (what does occur sometimes), but most  times it means they made a composite with the head and body from two different individuals. 

[ziggycardon]

3 hours ago, gigantoraptor said:

Well then, I guess I won't be the only one on the fossilforum who goes to PaleoTime. 

Last year all Keichousaurs on PaleoTime were in decent condition and mostly real. 

Regarding your question, you summed it up pretty well. One more thing I can think of is sometimes they the position of the head doesn't fit with the position of the body. I mean sometimes the upper part of the skull is visible, but the body lies on his back. This only happens naturaly when the neck is twisted (what does occur sometimes), but most  times it means they made a composite with the head and body from two different individuals. 

No apparently not!
Last year was my first edition, I discovered it a few days before and didn't have that much money at hand and went a bid unprepared, not knowing what to expect. 
If I did, I probably bought one last edition  
And thank you for the tip regarding the head, really usefull indeed to spot a composite! 
Might see you next month at the fair!  

[Bobby Rico]

It is nice if you have the time. You could to a little post showing all the members this wonderful show. We all love looking at fossil shows.  Just an idea.

[ziggycardon]

12 minutes ago, Bobby Rico said:

It is nice if you have the time. You could to a little post showing all the members this wonderful show. We all love looking at fossil shows.  Just an idea.

Yeah, might indeed be a fun idea for a topic! 
Will try to remember to take some pictures if I am not to buzy losing my mind over all the cool stuff.  

[Crazyhen]

Yes, yes, those are what you are looking for to determine if the Keichousaurus is authentic.  Indeed, as others say, most of the Keichousaurus are genuine but there are some enhancements in some cases.

 

I want to share some photos of specimens below for reference.

 

Unprepped ones:

 

 

 

Manually prepped ones:

 

 

 

 

 

[Crazyhen]

Acid prepped ones:

 

Hatchlings/Juveniles:

 

 

 

 

[ziggycardon]

8 hours ago, Crazyhen said:

Yes, yes, those are what you are looking for to determine if the Keichousaurus is authentic.  Indeed, as others say, most of the Keichousaurus are genuine but there are some enhancements in some cases.

 

I want to share some photos of specimens below for reference.

 

Unprepped ones:

 

 

 

Manually prepped ones:

 

 

 

 

 

Well thank you very much! All these photos are very helpfull, will definitly save them to my phone so I can compare them next to the specimen.  

[aplomado]

Amazing specimens!