bgreenstone Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I picked this up in Tucson a few weeks ago, and I was super-excited when I found it. I have never seen a dinosaur footprint on sale in a rock shop before, and I didn't even realize that such things could be bought at all. I guess I though dino footprints were super-rare. However, the dealer had about 4 of them, and I've seen a few similar ones for sale on eBay, but nowhere else. So, does anyone know how rare these are? What do you figure they're really worth? I'm not sure if this is something I should hang onto as an investment piece, or something I should trade for or sell. The only info I got from the seller is that it comes from North America, and it's a Grallator footprint. Thanks, -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 They are much rarer than Megalodon teeth, and indisputably cool As an investment, I can think of many things with a higher yield than fossils (at least in the financial sense)... "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...
aplomado Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Cool print! Fossil are for fun, not an investment unfortunately. I saw some tiny carboniferous prints I should have bought once! I regret not getting them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 It's whatever your definition of rare is. In my mind all dinosaur material is rare but some of it is available for sale like footprints. Fossils as an investment, item probably not the best place to put your money. Keep looking at eBay to get a handle on value and locality. Your specimen probably came from Massachusetts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 What do you figure they're really worth? In my opinion you have the answer to your own question. I was super-excited when I found it. This holds the greatest value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Sometimes the value of an item is directly proportional to the difficulty in obtaining said item. "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...
erose Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Here in Central Texas dino prints are almost common in the field with many dozens of sites all over the Hill Country. But they are very hard to collect. even making casts is difficult. If your print is from the harder shales and mudstones of the east coast then they are easier to cut free but maybe not as common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manticocerasman Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Brian, I have some pieces with the same name “grallator variabilis” (Hettangian, lowest age of the Jurassic) that I’ve found in Southern France. Do you have more information about the age and location of your specimen? The where not very rare at the site, but indeed hard to collect. But I’m very happy with my specimens J I have traded some of the ones I’ve found, but I regret that I did. So I would suggest to put it in a showcase and enjoy your footprint ;-) Greetz. Kevin growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgreenstone Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 The guy I bought the fossil from did have some additional details about where it came from, but I forgot most of it. All I remember is grallator from the north-east US. From what I'm reading here I guess these aren't all that rare, which is odd. In my entire life I've never ever seen any dinosaur footprint for sale at any rock / fossil shop, so I'd assume that means these are rare, but apparently not. Perhaps they're just rare on the retail market, but not rare to fossil hunters. Maybe that means there's an untapped market here for them because I think these would sell like crazy in a retail store. -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triceratops Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Lovely specimen, congratulations! -Lyall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 The guy I bought the fossil from did have some additional details about where it came from, but I forgot most of it. All I remember is grallator from the north-east US. From what I'm reading here I guess these aren't all that rare, which is odd. In my entire life I've never ever seen any dinosaur footprint for sale at any rock / fossil shop, so I'd assume that means these are rare, but apparently not. Perhaps they're just rare on the retail market, but not rare to fossil hunters. Maybe that means there's an untapped market here for them because I think these would sell like crazy in a retail store. -Brian There is a retail store at the quarry in South Hadley, MA. It's called Nash Dinosaur Tracks. Part of the reason they are more common than you might think is that the same spot preserved successive layers that contained tracks. Also there is the fact that a dinosaur makes more tracks than it does feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 The guy I bought the fossil from did have some additional details about where it came from, but I forgot most of it. All I remember is grallator from the north-east US. From what I'm reading here I guess these aren't all that rare, which is odd. In my entire life I've never ever seen any dinosaur footprint for sale at any rock / fossil shop, so I'd assume that means these are rare, but apparently not. Perhaps they're just rare on the retail market, but not rare to fossil hunters. Maybe that means there's an untapped market here for them because I think these would sell like crazy in a retail store. -Brian Sellers don't always have important information (identification, age, formation, locality etc). So when such information is available be sure to write it down and keep it safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts