I have an interest in fossils and meteorites as well but I have not collected them because I am not knowledgeable enough to know what I am buying. My issue with fossils is that just like in the coin world, fakes abound. I found this link on the types of fake fossils and how to identify some of them. http://english.fossiel.net/information/article.php?id=96&/Fakes
Amazing how many of us also have a thing for fossils. It also brought back a memory from the early '60s (OK I'm old) when some friends and myself went to a new retention basin they were digging near my house. We started cracking open hunks of shale and within practically every one there were fossil fish and plants. Took hundreds of pieces home with me. Went to college in '70 and took a course in paleontology and halfway through the professor started talking about incredible fossil finds in a basin in South Euclid, Ohio near Cleveland; the same one my finds came out of. Unfortunately my parents had moved the year before and threw out all the fossils I collected.
@Mikey Zee I hate you. You mentioned fossils, which got my son interested and got me to rekindle my long lost love of fossil collecting, and a few "Papa, buy me this, buy me that!" later, not only did I get that trilobite, but now also this: Extinct Rugose coral species (horn coral) 385,000,000 years old Extinct species of Paraspirifer brachiopod from the Devonian circa 380,000,000 years old. This one is interesting in that the replacement mineral that created the fossil is pyrite (ie. fool's gold) And to recap, the damage from last night: Platyscutellum trilobite, Middle Devonian circa 382,000,000 years old These animals all lived and died within 1,500 miles of each other (plate tectonics moved them further apart over the years), and practically around the same geological time scale (Middle Devonian), so it's an extremely likely possibility that these species interacted with each other in the same environment while they were alive. I don't know about you guys, but these are cooler than dinosaur bones. I plan to obtain some more Devonian era fossils over the next few months for our Father/son learning adventures, and eventually move to carboniferous era fossils (insects/plants/early land animals/early sharks and other primitive fish).
Sad. I wish they would have sold them instead and they'd at least still be around for studying and learning about. However, it's not surprising given it was the 1970s. These days thanks to the internet these fossils are widely collected and worth some money, so people will tend to sell them instead.
Well, I hate me too...... and all you guys (and gals) who posted such incredibly cool 'stuff' and have me going off into yet another collecting niche. And, I haven't even begun to satisfy my meteorite and 'rock-hound' cravings yet
I know a rockin dude who sells meteorites, Mikey. Whenever you're ready to totally space out, let me know and I'll give you his info. Erin
LOL, it's cause of this board I got into ancients and this board I got back into dabbling into fossils. Not counting world and currency that I see others have and then end up getting too. For being a free message board, it's expensive!
That is why I ignore the paper currency section and the world coins section. I used to be a paper money, and US and foreign coin collector in my teens, and even dabbled in fossils and space memorabilia. At one point I even collected watches and fountain pens. I have the collector's gene in me. Thankfully I've controlled my watch and fountain pen addiction and cut the collections down to the 5 watches I wear the most, and the 7 fountain pens I use the most, and eventually got out entirely of the paper money, space memorabilia, US and world coins hobbies. However, I fell for ancients (which got me back to coins), and now I fell for fossils again. I'd like to keep it there and not go into more hobbies. Life is too expensive to have more than 1 or 2 hobbies, which is a lesson I learned several years ago when I had to cut down on the other hobbies (right around the time my son was born). Trust me I don't want, need, and cannot afford more than 2 hobbies...and you guys are not helping by reminding me of all the cool hobbies out there.
I inherited the collecting gene from my dad. His dad also collected. Neither collected coins mind you, but they had/have their own hobbies. I have many hobbies, but I consider it more dabbling then anything. My main hobbies are Coins, Autographs, Comic Books, & Action Figures. Dabbles are Stamps, Fossils, currency, TV Show Dvd sets *love classic tv*, &antiques. When one has a dry spell of nothing I want or being too expensive, I drift to something else thats more affordable at the time being. I've done well parting with old collections over the year sand that helped fuel the ancient coins and paid for house maintenances.
I am coming to your house to play. You have a lotta cool toys/coins/fossils that are like what I collect (no fossils yet).
If you're ever in the New York/Long Island area, you and your family are always welcome.....I'll even share some of Marsha's 'wine stash' with you---but hands off my beer LOL
Gotta stay away from threads like these. I'm broke enough from coin and all my other hobbies already. Really don't need to start hoarding fossils and space rocks too. I do have a fascination with fossilized insects in amber though.
I have few Germs/Minerals too. One of my favorites is this piece of Fir Agate. My sister gave it to me, she got it from a guy that mines it. Another favorite is the vial of Trinitite (glass formed at the trinity test site). It resembles Moldivate.
wow, you guys are awesome ... super geeky, but fricken sweet (a nice mix of traits) => your stuff is super cool (I'm quite jealous)
No one has mentioned collecting antique swords, daggers, armor, or (totally unrelated) classic cars yet... I love individually hand made swords. Not such a fan once they started mass producing them.