Museum Grade Chaceon Crab Fossil from Patagonia

Description: In March and July of 2008 I had the unique privilege of purchasing two large lots from a most important collection. The collector had painstakingly accumulated a superb group of decapods, echinoderms and other fossils during a twenty-year period. The vast majority of the specimens came from self-collecting, academic resources, trading, and selected purchases. Very few of fossils came from the normal channels of trade shows and commercial internet resources.

Presented here is one of the most incredibly preserved fossil crabs that I have ever seen, much less had the opportunity to obtain. The specimen is completely matrix free. Believe me, it is not hard to visualize this creature coming to life and crawling away swiftly on it’s eight legs. It is also impressively large and robust looking. Need I mention the hours of professional curation invested in it’s preparation and presentation.

According to the collector (who is a very knowledgeable fossil crab specialist) from whom I obtained the Chacon, “It is the highest quality I've ever seen anywhere. All body parts are from the same animal as far as I can deduce. You can see in places, like where the legs are laterally stressed, that they have groves at the top of them. The leg crussing artifact though, that's a clue. Also, the eyes are partially intact, another clue, and the abdomen is anatomically prefect (not just REAL close), and the mouth parts are exactly right.”

This is a rare opportunity to obtain an investment grade* fossil of this quality. This fossil was obtained by the collector well over a decade ago, and is nonreplaceable. Argentina has since instituted very strict laws regarding the export of fossils and historic artifacts. Patagonia bosts a rich fossil fauna and flora from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, and particularly Cretaceous dinosaurs. This vast area is one of the greatest paleontological regions in the world,

The fossil crab will be shipped with the clear acrylic stand shown in the photos.

*The appellation “investment grade fossil” is one we almost never use at Fossil Mall, because we believe based on decades of experience that fossils should not be considered investments. The finest and rarest fossils, which we sometimes call “museum fossils”, can be counted on to hold their value in real dollar terms (inflation adjusted), but they pay neither interest nor dividends, and do not benefit from compounding. Some foreign fossils may rise in dollar terms, if the dollar falls, as has occurred in recent years, and visa versa if the dollar rises. But, there are better ways to currency-hedge than through fossils. The fossil above is investment grade because it is both exquisitely desirable, and has an exceptionally high probability of being unobtainable, but we really prefer that it be acquired by a museum or individual for its intrinsic value and beauty for a collection, without an investment motive.

In contrast to Fossil Mall’s use of the investment grade, we have seen the designation used gratuitously on a couple of websites in order to snare the naive. Such claims have been used by coin dealers, well, forever, though few have made real money from rare coins. When you see frequent use of the term "investment grade", the doctrine of caveat emptor probably should be invoked, because such lavish misrepresentation of reality is a tell-tale sign that impropriety lurks aplenty. Good luck, and be careful out there.