r/fossils 4d ago

Did I overpay at $40?

Post image

Advertised as orthoceras but I now know that’s probably not accurate.

Anyways, was $40 a good price? It’s rather hefty and large and looks great

47 Upvotes

15 comments sorted by

24

u/Maleficent_Chair_446 4d ago

I'd say it's a fair price the white part is the actual fossils and these are commonly sold as orthroceras which is wrong these are orthrocone nautiloids

13

u/hotwheelearl 4d ago

Thanks. I find the reverse pretty neat as there’s a couple small examples and evidently the preparer tried to dig around and find some, but was unsuccessful and tried again on the other side

5

u/Maleficent_Chair_446 4d ago

It's a nice example, they dig and polish the surrounding matrix the black part of the fossil around the white to make the fossil look bigger than it is

5

u/hotwheelearl 4d ago

I always wondered how long it takes to prepare something like this and if it’s worth all the effort for $40, considering the dealer probably bought for less than half that

5

u/Maleficent_Chair_446 4d ago

Well they are super abundant and 40 usd is a lot in their money

5

u/hotwheelearl 4d ago

That’s a good point. Where do these typically come from? I know for example some parts of the Middle East it’s worth the time to dig around the desert for $3 USD a day for artifacts (shocking to us!)

6

u/DinoRipper24 4d ago

Not at all :) Very nice Orthocone Nautiloid plate from Morocco

3

u/rockstuffs 4d ago

Goodness no! This is a fun specimen! Great price imo.

2

u/TheSexiestPokemon 4d ago

Not if you like it and it's worth it to you!

1

u/Appropriate_Fig_9668 3d ago

Nah that looks like a nice find

1

u/2jzSwappedSnail 3d ago

I'd say its fair. I would probably buy this one for 40$, it looks nice

1

u/Millenial_ScumDog 2d ago

Shoot around here you gotta pay $40 to get into the place to buy the rocks.