Where are our fossils from?
we source most of our fossils from a very reputable wholesaler based in the UK their team consists of well trained palaeontologists and geologists who have all been working in the industry for a long time and the company has over 40 years of experience importing and dealing in fossils. We sometimes also buy from other trusted sources from all over the world to make sure we have a good variety of stock. We also check all new fossils our selves often using simple techniques such as UV light or magnifying glasses to further access the fossil before sale.
Are all your fossils genuine?
Yes all of our fossils are genuine. We have a very good relationship based on trust and knowledge with our suppliers, it is not in our interest or our suppliers to sell fake or miss leading fossils, our reputation is worth allot more to us than a sale.
Are all your fossils perfect or flawless?
No pretty much all of our fossils are damaged/repaired in some way, especially the cheaper commercial fossils. We are very honest about the condition of the fossil, we rarely state anything to be perfect of pristine as it rarely is. It is also worth noting that cracks and imperfections are often (not always) a good sign the fossil is genuine. If a fossil is sold as perfect and very rare and is also cheap I would question its origin before buying. It is worth remembering that fossils are often found looking very different to the finished “cleaned up” fossils we usually see and it takes allot of skill and time to properly clean a fossil and this is often reflected on the price of a fossil unfortunately they are rarely found looking pristine.
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Are Moroccan Trilobites all fake?
Though there are allot of fake fossils coming in from Morocco and other countries we do our best to source only genuine fossils. This dose not mean they have not had repairs or enhancements some of the trilobites you will find on our website will have re-construction, fillers, carvings or a light black paint/shoe polish to help cover repairs and blemishes. This polish is usually easily removed with warm water and some nail polish remover and a soft brush on some specimens you will find little light grey patches where they have patched a broken piece so in some cases we would personally leave the polish on to hide the blemishes especially for more moderately priced specimens. It is a matter of personal preference if you’re happy with this and is also reflected on the price. If you want an excellent museum quality rare trilobite then it will be many times more expensive than say a lesser quality one that though genuine has had some restoration work to it or repairs. We will always do our best to be open about this and note this on the fossils details and let the buyer decide for themselves. We have a very good relationship with our UK wholesalers and they are extremely knowledgeable, we are always happy to forward any queries that we can not confirm ourselves to their experts to help provide you with all the information needed. It is also worth keeping in mind Morocco also produces some stunning fossils and has many highly skilled people with allot of these fossils being very hard to clean up without damaging them.
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Advice on Spinosaurus teeth:
We stock a range of high quality Spinosaurus teeth but its worth being aware of a few things often involved with Spinosaurus teeth, especially most cheaper commercial grade teeth. It is very common for a high percentage of our cheaper Spinosaurus teeth to have a fairly high amount of repairs or restoration to them. There is nothing wrong with this as the fossils are often found broken and the filler is used to bridge the missing gaps and help keep the fossil stable but it will effect the overall value of the fossil. So it is important to keep a perspective and be realistic on what you expect from your fossil, if you want a very clean very detailed collector grade tooth with no restoration it will be allot higher price than a commercially prepped tooth with some restoration. Allot of people are very happy with a large tooth at a reasonable price with some sections of restoration or repairs and there is nothing wrong with that at all and we will price fossils accordingly based on the condition and work done to them. We will always be very transparent on all fossils we sell in our product descriptions and will always happily point out where work has been done on a fossil so please feel free to contact the shop before you purchase if you have any questions. Almost all of our dinosaur teeth are what you see is what you get so you can see exactly what you are buying. As a side note freshly broken Spinosaurus teeth are very white inside when first exposed to oxygen this dose not mean they are fake, this will usually yellow as the fossil is exposed to the air. Overall we have always had very happy customers with our Spinosaurus teeth and have not had a issue with them to date.
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Advice on Mosasaur composite skulls:
what is a composite fossil? There are quite a few definitions for this depending on the seller or country but the general definition of a composite fossil is an assemblage of two or more pieces of real fossil material from separate individuals to create a single more complete looking specimen.
an example of a composite fossil: made using multiple fossils from different animals of the same species to create a larger piece using plasters, resins or other man made materials to construct a bigger fossil from fragments or pieces.
example of a restored fossil: two broken pieces of a dinosaur jaw bone from the same animal and fossil have had sections filled in to stabilise the pieces and it is an extension of an original fossil used to in some cases preserve a delicate fossil or strengthen it for display it is not a replacement of the fossils parts.
Mosasaur skulls available on the market are usually always composite unless they are very rare and very expensive. Most skulls are found flattened and broken by time and pressures of fossilisation so it would be very rare to find a complete skull that has not been crushed in some way.
Usually what happens is the people who make these have many pieces of mosasaur bone some big some small and they will assemble a 'skull' from all these pieces like a puzzle using cement and fillers to keep the sometimes very thin bones together. Because they are all built differently by many different people the quality and designs will vary greatly. We have seen some very good skulls with large sections of real bone that was most probably all from one fossil and they have filled in the missing pieces with bits of cement and other mosasaur bone and we have also seen some very bad skulls with nearly all cement and some cheap teeth stuck in them. We always pick the composite skulls ourselves so we try and make sure there are decent sections of bone and the teeth all look good (teeth are not rooted as the jaws are usually reconstructed from lots of smaller pieces of bone) We will always be very honest about the amount of real vs reconstruction on each piece. These 'skulls' still make excellent display pieces and sometimes contain very interesting sections of real bone and real features from the original fossil so there is a place form them as long as they are described properly and the buyer is aware.
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Are there any guarantees with my fossil?
We do not generally provide certificates of authenticity for fossils as there is no main governing body to issue this so any 'certificate' where fossils are concerned is to a degree based off of someone's professional or personal opinion, but we can get written proof of a fossil if needed from our wholesalers who are palaeontologists who can provide detailed explanations of the fossils origin and of its condition and their professional opinion on the piece.
We do however offer a buy with confidence policy and issue authenticity guarantees with fossils, if your not happy with a fossil you may return it and we will refund you the cost of the fossil (not the postage) the fossil must be returned in the same condition it left us otherwise no refund will be issued. We do also provide our own personal guarantee that the fossil is genuine and will issue a full refund if any ever turned out to be fake (has never happened to date).
please see shipping and returns for more information on this.
We highly value our customers and want them to be happy with their purchases.