CompuServe Messages

Dear Mike, I'm obviously new to this forum. From your answer to Rob Sacks about collecting 300 lb of Green River fossils, I can only assume that you're very involved in the hobbie. Are you involved in the retail end?? Regarding the "faked" Moroccan fossils, I've seen many plaster or calcium monohydrate cast reproductions of those large Moroccan Phacops, but I would think that only a cursory look at the matrix stone would alert even the casual observer to a cast reproduction. I've never seen these casts misrepresented anywhere. However, I have recently seen several large trilobites that made me wonder… I saw several Dicranurus monstrosus of about 3" size, very well prepared on the same dark black marble matrix I'm used to seeing the Phacops on. Their forms looked so identical that I took a photo to compare to my own specimen. As expected, the matrix and the pose of the specimen was slightly different. Whew! I'm also familiar with those large 6-15 inch long Paradoxides from Morroco. Beautiful, painted a tanned ochre like limonite on well-prepared platters, each specimen weighing from 5-20 lb. I couldn't resist and acquired one when I was in Seattle a few years back. Then recently I saw an astounding picture of a Selenopeltis 7" specimen ($1000) on the same marble matrix,..then another one of similar size at the local Nature store right here in Honolulu! Then I saw a photo of a beautiful Koneprusia brutoni trilobite 1.5" again chipped out of the same dark matrix. Of course, I know they're genuine. But, they must be so plentiful! I can imagine cheap labor and all, but they must really have a mother-lode of beautiful available, somewhat affordable fossils and an army of technicians chipping away, preparing them. Makes me wish I could go to Morocco if only to see where these fossils really come from,…and maybe score a bunch of really primo specimens!! Can you or anyone tell me about Morocco?? There's precious little information on the giant Paradoxides, the multitude of 5-6" Phacops, and the Dicranurus. And their "prices" are so reasonable compared to Ardmore, Oklahoma's prices… Incidentally, I did have problems with mold growing on my Hoekaspis and my Hemirrhodon amplipyge specimens. This was really gross, to think that there was enough biologically active stuff on my fossils that can still decay after all these hundreds of millions of years! I think the specimens are stable enough to take a blast of Tilex, but I really ought to ask someone who knows…. Will look forward to any replies… -Joseph