What To Do With Fossil...?

[wooziebobus]

Hey guys, I am new to finding fossils as I unexpectedly found some mammalian jawbone along the Thames River.

I am just curious, what's the typical procedure for finding a fossil?
IDing would be a first step I imagine, and I posted a topic in the ID forum.

My ultimate question is if there is a way to make monetary profit off of it (get it valued if it is a signficant find) or donate it to a museum, and what the pros and cons of each decision are. (or, as a third alternative, to just keep it. but then do you need to clean it up or take other measure...?)

I appreciate the advice you can give me.

[edd]

It depends on who you ask, many people have different views on the subject... I never sale or think about monetary value when it comes to fossils, in my opinion when you do this just to make money that thrill of discovery goes away. If i do find something of scientific importance I donate it to the museums.

Edited September 6, 2013 by edd

[caldigger]

Wooziebobus, Find out how old your jawbone is. Is it actually fossilized? I know the butchers of old London used to dump their carcass into the Thames.

[Auspex]

If it proves to be of scientific significance, and you don't really care to 'curate' it, a museum may be willing to accept it (these institutions have to weigh their not insignificant cost of perpetual curation against whether they need it in their collection).

If it is to be kept (by you or a museum), preservation of old, water-logged bone begins by causing it to dry out as slowly as possible.

[wooziebobus]

Thanks for the replies thus far. How would I go about determining its age?

[Blastoid]

First off, I'd strongly suggest not getting into any hobby with the pursuit of profit foremost in mind. Disregard the recent spate of get rich quick reality tv shows, they're all fake. Any minimum wage job would be a better choice if you seek profit.

You should look up a local gem/mineral/fossil club, and go to a meeting. You will assuredly meet some interesting people, and if they can't help you they'll know who can.

Or stop by the geology/paleontology dept of a local university or museum, or regional geologists office, if you still have such in old blighty.

Lastly, please do read up on the law pertainging to fossils, ownership, and sales thereof in your country. This is important!

For example, here in Canada, there are entire provinces and enormous federal parks where getting caught removing vertebrate fossils will get you a nice quiet vacation in the crowbar hotel.

Good luck getting your find ID'd. It's a great hobby, hope you get into it.

[Auspex]

^ ^ ^

Well said, Mr. Blastoid

[wooziebobus]

First off, I'd strongly suggest not getting into any hobby with the pursuit of profit foremost in mind. Disregard the recent spate of get rich quick reality tv shows, they're all fake. Any minimum wage job would be a better choice if you seek profit.

You should look up a local gem/mineral/fossil club, and go to a meeting. You will assuredly meet some interesting people, and if they can't help you they'll know who can.

Or stop by the geology/paleontology dept of a local university or museum, or regional geologists office, if you still have such in old blighty.

Lastly, please do read up on the law pertainging to fossils, ownership, and sales thereof in your country. This is important!

For example, here in Canada, there are entire provinces and enormous federal parks where getting caught removing vertebrate fossils will get you a nice quiet vacation in the crowbar hotel.

Good luck getting your find ID'd. It's a great hobby, hope you get into it.

I appreciate the thorough answer. I just want to point out that the fossil was just laying on top of the sand/rocks and I did not digging whatsoever - not sure if this affects the specifics.

For now, I'll look for a fossil club.

[Herb]

In most places just picking up the odd fossil laying around will not constitute a felony, unless it was in a museum. Odds are if it was just lying along the river it's recent.