lissa318 Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Are ammonites often faked and when looking to purchase, why are so many from Madagascar? Are they just extremely common there? Although I hope to find one of my own one day, I have been thinking about buying one in the meantime. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 buy from texas Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boneman007 Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Buy from Dan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissa318 Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 If Dan is interested in selling any he should PM me.... Or could move this to the trading and selling section? I would be extremely disappointed if I purchased one that was not in fact genuine. I just am fascinated by the ammonites and would love to have one to display... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Ammonites are common in some areas , and unless they are a rare specimen, should be fairly cheap. Because they are relatively common I don't think your average ammonite would be a fake. "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissa318 Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 Ammonites are common in some areas , and unless they are a rare specimen, should be fairly cheap. Because they are relatively common I don't think your average ammonite would be a fake.I am seeing some for sale for pretty high prices on sites I have come across! I am not looking for anything fancy, just a good specimen with nice detail. It is a bit overwhelming what you find when you just want something simple and natural looking... lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 I would think there would be many reputable dealers in the US. What are you looking for? "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissa318 Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 (edited) I would think there would be many reputable dealers in the US. What are you looking for?Maybe you or other members could help advise me better on what I even want... lol! I just love the ammonite finds posted by members on here, and I do not care if it is a common specimen... Would like it to large enough, or in matrix large enough, that I could have it propped on some type of a stand and it would be a nice decoration. I did just find this site that does have some for sale from the USA (which is what I'd prefer.) Cost wise this is what I am often coming across. Although maybe the less appealing looking ones cost more because rare?http://fossilconnections.com/sealife.htm Edited May 10, 2013 by lissa318 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Lissa....Your always better buying something from your own country if you can... I know from a collectors perspective there will be many exceptions to this but at the end of the day I personally think it means more to you.... You also want to feel your getting a bargain lol.... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Plai Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 I have bought quite several Madagascan ammonites, and have never seen or heard of fakes; at least for the largely common ones like Cleoniceras that u see prepped in either opalized, rainbow colors, leaf patterns or split in halves with agatized chambers. Though I have seen their prices can vary greatly depending on dealers, so shop around and compare prices before u buy. I have seen a pretty much identical ammonite in terms of quality and size, but with a price difference of 200-300% for no reason I could understand... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_ed Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 (edited) Hi; I have bought several Madagaskar ammonities and am glad I did, I have some small ones (about 2.5 inches) and some about 5 inches. The more reflective quality the more they cost. You can get good ones for fifty to seventy five dollars. I have a couple of Madagascar Ammonites that I bought in Alberta and they were half price and still cost me 150 dollars and aren't as good as the ones from China and Hong Kong. Don't be afraid to buy from "Crystalfound" on E-bay. Look for the ones with lots of red or orange and over three inches in dia. they are the most amazing fossils on earth in my opinion and the well will run dry. Buy all you can afford .. you won't be sorry. as soon as you get them they are worth twice or three times what you paid for them. Not that you would want to sell them but that is what they are selling for here. They are good luck too... since I bought some ammonites from china I have found a very good ammonite site within an hour and a half of my house. a year ago I didn't have any ammonities to speak of and now I have hundreds. Good Luck Ed Edited May 12, 2013 by Mr_ed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 You should go to a few rock and gem shows to see what is available first hand. It will greatly help you as you then consider anything from online dealers or ebay. I believe rocks and gem magazine has a web site with show listings for the entire country. Most shows, except the bead ones, will have fossils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 I don't want to divert buyers away from Dan, in fact I would recommend him is you are buying US. But there aren't many faked ammonites out there though I have seen a few heteromorphs from Morocco that appear to have been carved out of plain matrix - ie. completely fake. The problem I have with most of the ones coming out of Madagascar is that they have been processed somehow - sliced, polished, or even just the aperture has been sliced flat instead of being left natural. I think pretty much everything Crystalfound is selling is processed - even the Madagascan Perisphinctes have the high points of the ribbing polished for some reason that escapes me! He also doesn't seem to know anything about the specimens beyond eg. "ammonite from Madagascar" and some things are miscategorized (common ebay problem). Personally I am not against buying overseas fossils as long as they are unaltered and and they are affordable, and preferably also have their data (though if the first 2 conditions are met, sometimes it's still worth buying considering how uncommon that seems to be, and there is a possibility the data can be determined later - it is rare that Madag. ammos come with data but it can be tracked down for well-known sources such as that). I think the prices on that website you linked - let me put it this way - are aimed at the rich! Seems typical these days to shoot for the moon income-wise, and hope somebody bites (oops, mixed metaphors) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 i actually prefer ammos from overseas... when i can go collect them myself! Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissa318 Posted May 14, 2013 Author Share Posted May 14, 2013 Thanks for the great feedback and input everyone! Being fairly new at fossil hunting I would love to have one that I could possibly aspire to find myself one day. More than likely this would happen in the US... lol The Madagascar ammonites are beautiful! I would just prefer one that looks more natural right now? I can also appreciate the business side of fossils, and can understand asking a high price if you can get it. I did get a PM and will hopefully be purchasing one from a fellow member which I am happy about too! I am just fascinated by them and am excited about having one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Look forward to seeing it and I think you made the right choice....It might be worth researching where is the nearest place to you can find your own in the future.... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 I have seen reasonably priced ones on E-bay "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 There are some on there right now... Do a search for 'Cleoniceras' and 'Desmoceras', I did just now and most of the results are affordable natural examples with pearly shell. Just watch out as some of them have unnatural squared-off apertures. They're not huge but I don't think most of the larger ones are as nice, so they slice and polish them (I assume - would hate the thought that they will slice/polish a nice pristine nacreous example as opposed to a grotty one but worse things have happened!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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