It’s no secret that fossil skeletons are sometimes going for a lot of money these days. Any look at the headlines will have people scratching their heads and wondering, “Why don’t I get into this business?” There’s a gold-rush mentality in the dinosaur world at the moment, and like all gold rushes, it is attracting some less than scrupulous people.
Read MoreStrip mining for fossils and taking advantage of Farmer Joe in Western Kansas isn’t really an option if you’re looking to make the next big find. Most ranchers have horror stories of someone trying to do that and the perpetrators are never allowed back. It’s easier and more fun to be nice to people!
Read More"The reason I distrust the percentage valuation equation stems mostly from the fact that you must clarify what percentage means. Are you referring to the mass of original bone material recovered or the number of bones recovered? This is an important distinction because depending on how you look at it, all bones are equal to one another…unless they’re not. "
Read MoreSadly, more often than not people pay top dollar for terrible fossil casts or original skeletons. Museums and private collectors regularly shell out large sums of money for substandard dinosaurs that are mounted poorly, misrepresented, illegally collected, or simply look bad. Large design firms eat up multi-million-dollar budgets and deliver slipshod results easily replicated by a high school drafting student and a welder.
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