What do you collect exactly?

[JorisVV]

My question today is: What do you guys collect precisely? 

 

I've been struggling over the years what to collect exactly. As I love dinosaur fossils. And most of the budget and time goes in there. I still want collect some other things, that may look good on display for example. Premium big shark teeth or Mammalian/pleistoceen stuff. It's more fun collecting this way instead of limiting myself. 

 

What about you guys and girls? What do you collect. Do you collect a specific thing or just what is nice to look at? Bit of both?

[Kikokuryu]

While I primarily target teeth from theropod, crocodylomorph, and lobe-finned fish, I do keep an eye out from just about any animal fossils. I also don't mind, and kind of like the undescribed indeterminate stuff, so all the croc indet. do bring joy to obtain.

 

So if I see a neat species of shark, mammal, ammonite, trilobite, amber inclusions, etc. I'll pick them up. I prefer small specimens, the vast majority of my fossils being around 0.50"-2". I like having 50+ species per shelf in my displays which you can't do as easily with the large, though admittedly more impressive specimens. Starting out, it of course looks underwhelming if you only have 3-4 fossils, but once you have 300-400 species, it's satisfying to look at.

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

I came in from an entirely different direction of collecting originally, initially being more focused on ethnographic pieces following a period in my childhood in which I collected anything and everything fossil related.

 

About 15 years ago I gradually started shifting back to collecting fossils, initially anything that caught my eye and I thought was impressive, including megalodon and dinosaur teeth, sea urchins, etc. Eventually, I realised that if I wanted to have the money to get the better and more interesting or impressive pieces I had to narrow down the field in which I was collecting, which meant shifting my focus on marine reptile material entirely. Still, I would occasionally get other items, such as ammonites, a particularly nice urchin, and above all, crocodile material. The latter was mainly intended, however, to educate myself on the difference between marine reptile and crocodile material, and as an area with partial overlap (think marine crocodiles).

 

Recently, in order to free up both funds and space to further my collection, I've started selling off parts of my ethnographic and fossil collection that aren't related to marine reptiles, so that I can now hyperfocus on that area of my interestests.

Edited August 29 by pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon

[FranzBernhard]

Keyword "looking good":

Some contrast, some eye-catching shape, good size.

Many, many possibilities:

- Trilobites

- Ammonites

- Rudists .

- Gastropods

- Corals

Just to mention a few. You can build small thematic collections: Fossil group in time or variation within a given time etc. 

 

Personally, I like small arrangements of similar, but not identical objects.

 

Franz Bernhard

Edited August 29 by FranzBernhard

[Brevicollis]

I collect mostly vertebrate fossils, mostly reptiles, but sometimes mammal or fish fossils. Or I collect fossils I like the looks of, where it doesnt matters what fossil it is, as good preservation then counts for me.

[North]

I have been mostly focused on mosasaur and theropod teeth, but I try to collect ones I like as long I get them with decent price, since all animals are interesting in my books. If you like it, why not get it.

 

I personally prefer good quality specimens over rare ones.

[Othniel C. Marsh]

I collect vertebrate fossils, teeth primarily, but only those identifiable to a species level, with the intention of representing as many species as possible in my collection.

I represent each species with a single specimen.

When selecting a specimen, quality is a much greater concern than size, but I prefer specimens that are greater than 0.5cm in at least one dimension, and I avoid fossils that are still lodged in matrix or have been restored. Whilst I have no particular preference with regards to which vertebrates I collect, the aforementioned criteria combined with my rather limited budget do result in some groups (i.e sharks) being much better represented than others (i.e. dinosaurs).

[FossilDAWG]

Because I prefer to collect myself, I mostly collect invertebrates as vertebrate material (except for shark/ray/fish teeth) are hard to find and so require more time searching than I have to spare.  I guess I’m still a child at heart (in a number of ways) as I have never been able to focus on one or two taxonomic groups.  I like trilobites, crabs and other decapods, insects, echinoderms of all flavors, brachioods, gastropods, bivalves, ammonites and nautiloids, corals, bryozoans, and even plants.  I do have a variety of vertebrates but mostly that has been purchased, except for the fish.  I enjoy the challenge of learning about the taxonomy of lots of different groups, and I love diversity.  Fortunately I have a big basement with dibs on about half of it.

 

Don

[minnbuckeye]

To me, "collecting " is definitely secondary to the "thrill of the hunt". With that said, I like to hunt new territory whenever I travel. This leaves quite a variety of fossils in my collection. Few of great value, but many of great memories.

[BirdsAreDinosaurs]

I mainly collect Kem Kem teeth, mostly dinosaurs but also crocodylomorphs and pterosaurs. This might be strange to some, but I prefer unrooted teeth and I do not really care how rare a specimen is. From my point of view, any 100 million year old and almost completely intact tooth is somewhat of a miracle. But every tooth I buy should really add something new to the collection, which could be a new species, but also something like a new colour or a cool pattern.

 

I started out collecting these teeth just for fun, but now I also use the teeth in an art project, for which I sometimes buy particular specimens that I otherwise would not have bought. Also, I usually keep my eye out for undescribed teeth.

 

Besides the Kem Kem material I sometimes buy things that I think look great, which could be anything including plants and invertebrates.

 

I also have self collected fossils, mostly marine invertebrates and pleistocene mammalians, but most of them are hidden away in boxes as they are not the best specimens to look at.

[Fin Lover]

My collection is primarily stuff I've found, but I have a few items that have been purchased from forum members and forum auctions.

 

So, shark, fish, ray, and odontocete material mainly.  Not as much croc.  Equus and some bits and pieces of other Pleistocene material on occasion, but primarily Oligocene.

[C2fossils]

I collect what I find, not including my otodus obliquus tooth from madagascar.

[trilobites_are_awesome]

Trilobites!

Fish and Inverts are really what what I am focusing

fish But I collect most things, In my collection I have dinosaur shark plant and reptile material,

 

[Randyw]

My collection is eclectic. I used to collect everything I could get my hands on but it’s narrowing down to amber (300+ pieces), oreodont skulls (30 pieces) probiscean material, grf fish (around 200 pieces), teeth i can afford (not many), and anything I can prepare. But I will purchase anything that does strike my fancy as I can’t get out to collect anymore..

[Fossildude19]

I started my collection with a purchased Green River Fish.

That lead me to researching what could be collected close to where I live. I have self collected Jurassic fish and plants, dino footprints, and trace fossils. locally.

I then expanded, to include nearby states, in what I personally collect. This includes Triassic fish,  Middle, Lower, and Upper Devonian verts and inverts, Ordovician, and Silurian inverts, and Cretaceous Shark teeth, as well.

 

I have purchased fossils, but not too many, (as I am rather thrifty with my cash). And usually only bargain fossils.  I still have ended up with some nice bargains.

I think collecting whatever motivates you is a good thing.

[jpc]

I collect what I can find.  Living in Wyoming, there are plenty of options out here, but I spend my free time in the Eocene as much as I can.  But I also enjoy local ammonites, dinosaurs and Oligocene mammals.  The White River Fm is where I started and I still enjoy it.  At this point, I am running out of space, s o I have to think twice about collecting anything larger than an oreodont skull.  

 

 I also collect when I travel, if possible.  Sometimes I even travel to collect.  I went to Florida a year ago for a weekend on the Peace River.  

[SPrice]

My collection has a lot of commonalities with those already posted. 

 

This - To me, "collecting " is definitely secondary to the "thrill of the hunt". 

 

This -  I collect what I find,

 

This -  I prefer to collect myself, I mostly collect invertebrates as vertebrate material (except for shark/ray/fish teeth) are hard to find - but in my case vertebrate material is off the table for collecting in Utah with the exception of private property collecting.

 

 

This - I have purchased fossils, but not too many, (as I am rather thrifty with my cash).  I'm very thrifty and frugal, period. Except I also abide by the adage -purchase the best quality one can afford. 

 

Which leads me to  - I can drive pretty much to any county in Utah and collect invertebrate fossils from plants, trilobites, ammonites and more.  The cost is basically just gas for the car.  Ammonite fossils have been my greatest interest this past year or so. They are prolific due to the geology of my state. They're in all 4 corners of Utah...as close at 30 minutes drive to 4 hours. The latest ones I've found are still in the matrix concretions and weigh up to 110 pounds and measure between 10 and 20 inch diameter of the outer whorls. A lotta bang for gas money, IMHO. 

[Kane]

Trilobites almost exclusively, for many reasons. There is scarcely a surface in my house that isn't infested. 

[mighty micraster]

I collect everything I see that I can physically/legally take home!

[digit]

5 hours ago, minnbuckeye said:

To me, "collecting " is definitely secondary to the "thrill of the hunt". With that said, I like to hunt new territory whenever I travel. This leaves quite a variety of fossils in my collection. Few of great value, but many of great memories.

Fossil soul mates.

 

Most of all I collect memories and experiences. The fossils themselves are merely a byproduct of good times out in the field sharpening my skills I can look around my house and see fossils here and there that remind me of fun times out on the hunt. I too have traveled to collect and have have the privilege to collect a variety of different types of fossils with a number of members of this forum. My favorite fossils are the ones I know little about as they provide an avenue for learning about something new.

 

Since moving to Gainesville, FL I've been able to work more closely with the FLMNH. My wife and I have been able to collect fossil material from a number of sites in Florida while volunteering at the museum. We've dug at the Thomas Farm site (sinkhole site loaded with 3-toed horses and other interesting early Miocene fossils) as well as the Montbrook site (a late Miocene river ecosystem with fishes, turtles, gators and mammals like gomphotheres, rhinos, otters and saber cats). The best part is I get to discover many interesting (and scientifically important) specimens and often get to to the prep work in the lab and in the end the museum stores these so I don't need to build an extension to the house to hold all my finds.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[digit]

4 minutes ago, mighty micraster said:

I collect everything I see that I can physically/legally take home!

That certainly narrows things down.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[SPrice]

1 hour ago, digit said:

That certainly narrows things down.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

Hilarious! 

[Mikrogeophagus]

Really enjoying going through this thread!

 

I try to be diverse with the things I collect, but sharks teeth are my primary focus. I mostly hunt Cretaceous sharks, but also want to get more into the Paleozoic (Pennsylvianian-Permian) and Cenozoic (Eocene) sharks in the future. I am obsessed with micros which is nice because they are pretty easy to display with gem jars. I love pulling out a drawer of 50 jars and recounting the memories associated with each tiny specimen.

[Denis Arcand]

What do I collect exactly ? Well, it’s the perfect match for my other hobby, photography. It gives me a great excuse to wander around in nature, camera in one hand, and a 450-million-year-old treasure in the other hand. I focus on Ordovician fossils, they’re easy to find, and let’s be honest, they’ve been around for so long that they deserve a little rescue mission before they weather away into oblivion. Like my fossil mentor @Tidgy's Dad, I’m mostly into brachiopods, but I won’t say no to crinoids, trilobites, cephalopod...

Edited August 30 by Denis Arcand

[Jaybot]

On 8/29/2024 at 6:50 AM, minnbuckeye said:

To me, "collecting " is definitely secondary to the "thrill of the hunt". With that said, I like to hunt new territory whenever I travel. This leaves quite a variety of fossils in my collection. Few of great value, but many of great memories.

We think alike.  I'm very excited to to collect whatever I can find in my area, and learning as much as I can about said area.

I guess my favorite things to find (and thus collect) are mostly things I haven't found yet

Edited September 1 by Jaybot