Imagine holding in your hand a 110 million year old fossil.  Some ammonites are much older than that, up to 450 million years old.  Even older than the dinosaurs.  Oceans at the time were teeming with life.  Predators were everywhere.  And it was a live fast, or die hard world for the ammonites.  In fact, ammonites closely resemble modern squids, octopus and the chambered nautilus.  Ammonites were carnivores as well. 

Fossils, like these, were once found only in museums - NOW you can OWN one!!!  You can hold in your hand a part of the ancient fossil record from the time the dinosaurs roamed the earth.

This is the NEW batch from the UK.  I brought in from the most recent TUCSON SHOW with some of the best color  around, excellent batch!!!  Super nice, absolutely the best I have seen in years.

We over edit the picture so you can see the iridescence. 

Description: 

Psiloceras planorbis - Beautiful rainbow iridescent ammonite imprinted into shale.  Metallic baby blue colored with sparkling rainbow highlights throughout.  These were very thin-walled Ammonites, which were crushed by tons of rock and debris during fossilization.  This is the case with most of the Ammonites found in the UK. Flattening of the specimen therefore, has increased the area of iridescence of the shell.   Making them absolutely beautiful.

The shell is composed of alternating layers of conchiolin and aragonite along with other minerals that have replaced the shell during this fossilization process. These not only transmits light but also diffract it.  Thus acting much as a "Rowland prism" to divide light into its component parts with certain wave lengths being heavily reinforced: glowing greens, spectacular reds with occasional brilliant blues and yellows.  The strongest most vibrant colors start to show thru.

These Jurassic Ammonites are about 200 million years old and some of the RAREST in the world.  They come from Somerset UK and have fossilized in a brilliant metallic Blue ammolite like finish.  These are very difficult to photograph and look much better in person.  We over edit so the iridescence show up.  They are truly beautiful and hard to capture in their true stunning colors.

The chase - Ahead of the show, I contacted the only guy that has them in Tucson last year.  He is from the UK.  Told him I wanted them all, fine, he would be in on certain date.  I got to his room at the appointed 9 a.m. the day before show even started.   He had sold them all to a store owner.  I was not happy.  I managed to find another supplier at another hotel.  Much nicer ones than we usually see.  BUT these are HUGE.  Most of the others on the internet are dime or 1/2" size.  These are over 1" and I had to pay up, but the quality is worth it.  (Rare, always in short supply and always will be rare)

We angle the pictures to show the colors that is why there are several from the same angle.

Weight (lbs):  10.3 ounces

Weight (gm):  300grams

Size (inches):  Overal plate 4.7" x  4.3"  Ammonite 1.5". 

Size (mm):  Overall plate 120mm x  109mm.  Ammonite is 37mm. 

Mine location: Watchett, North Somerset, England, Lower Lias, Planorbis Zone. Lowerer Jurassic

Item Number: 7708

Retail value: $125

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Facts about ammonites -

Closest living relative - Octopus, Squid, Cuttlefish and it's closest cousin the Nautilus.     

First appeared - in shallow seas 450 million year ago.            

Extinct - in a catoclysmic event in the Cretaceous, with the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago.

Began life - less than 1 mm in diameter.  About the size of a period in this sentence.  But they grew fast.                                                                                                                                  

Females - reported to grow 400% bigger than males.            

Shells - comprised of chambers growing as the ammonite did.  Making 13 new chambers each year.  The ammonite lived in the last section, called the living segment.

Medieval Europe - Ammonites were thought to be petrified snakes.  They were called "snakestones" or "serpent stones".  Ammonites were said to be evidence for the actions of St. Hilda and St. Patrick - who drove the snakes out of Ireland.  In ancient times, traders would carve the face of a snake into the wide end of the ammonite fossil and sell them to the public.

The name Ammonite - comes from their spiral shape.  The fossilized shells somewhat resembled tightly coiled rams' horns.  Pliny the Elder (79 A.D. near Pompeii) called these fossils - ammonis cornua ("horns of Ammon") .  Because the Egyptian god Amman was typically depicted wearing ram's horns.

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Types of ammonites - 

Cleoniceras - These most colorful ammonites come from Madagascar, off the coast of Africa.  Cleoniceras is the most common type in Madagascar.  99% of the ammonites found in Madagascar are this species, with a smooth shell and angled segments.  The animal actually lived in the very last segments.  Variations in price are due to color differences and how many crystal cavities (or open 'cave like' structures) in the segments.  On average 110 million years old. 

Cymatoceras - Wide body Madagascar ammonites.  Some stand on their own and do not need stands.  Much rarer than the regular narrow body Cleoniceras.  More like a Wide Body Nautilus. (Limited quantities) Almost all gone.  They are past this level of digging.

Perisphinctes - Less than 1% of Madagascar ammonites are this type.  Ridges are on the back with a complete different growth pattern.  The chambers are also more compact and of a different shape.  Frequently one of the most brightly colored.  On normal ammonites, the middle is thicker.  On Perisphinctes the inner coils are smaller which is a rare occurance among ammonites.  These always command a high price.  (RARE)  Finally a few small ones 

Anapuzosia - WIDE Body with D shaped segments inside.  (Regular Cleoniceras have S shaped segments) These are from a new areas of Madagascar and I am not sure how much longer they will last.  Very deep crystal cavities make them desirable.  (Limited quantity) Almost sold out.

Phylloceras - WIDE Body with an odd V shape segment.  (Regular Cleoniceras have S shaped segments) These are from a new areas of Madagascar and I am not sure how much longer they will last. Very deep crystal cavities make them very desirable.   (VERY Limited)
Almost sold out.

Desmoceras - A Medium Body Ammonite similiar to the thin Cleoniceras, but wider body with a tighter coil of the shell. Usually with V- Shaped segments. Unlike the Cleoniceras which S-Shaped segments. ( Limited supply)

Goniatites - Curved ammonites from Morocco.  Small ones are moderately common.  Large ones up to 12" are much rarer and in higher demand as decorator pieces. Even the medium size ones 5-8" are getting very hard to obtain.  And the price will continue to rise.  The reason?  Very few have been found in the last three years.  The wide ones frequently stand by themselves, so they are always in high demand.  Usually grey, black and white in color. Sometimes in earth tones of brown and tan.  Goniatites are frequently 400 million years old, some of the oldest ammonites.  (small ones moderately common, Medium and Large are rarer - especially ones over 5".  I had to dig under tables at Tucson.  Open boxes and then beg the only two suppliers of these to sell me some.  They both tried to limit how many any one dealer could get.  Had to go back several days and bug them to get the quantity I did.) ONLY a few large ones in Tucson, they found very few this year. 

Check our other listings for these and other types of fine ammonites!!!

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New Tucson Ammonite finds:

Madagascar:

***NEW FIND***

Margarite Daisy ammonite (probably Choffaticeras) - Brand new find from Madagascar!!!!  So they are in all probability only found at ONE level of digging.   The people in Madagascar call them Margarite or "Daisy" flower ammonites as they resemble a daisy flower.  Chambers have large crystal cavities with nice botryoidial (bumpy) formations.  Supersize the pictures for better viewing.

Still doing research on the scientific name - probably Choffaticeras.  But in any case VERY RARE.  All fossils have some restoration, and this one is no different.  From the front you can not tell they have had restoration done.  The folks in Madagascar are that good.   That is why we show you back so you can see all. 

Colors range from brown to grey to the ones I bought are BLONDE.   Another dealer and good friend of mine had these, so I scooped up all the pretty ones he had.  Left a couple of grey ones for another dealer.  And yes they were not cheap, but when you see something this rare you have to grab it while is is available.  I saw only one other ammonite dealer in Tucson was WHOLESALING (selling to dealers/ stores) for over $2000 each.  Mine were much better color and more reasonably priced.

All of them appear to be HUGE as no small ones are found.  So don't bother asking.  Everything we have is listed.  And we found no small ones.  No one did.  Ultra RARE, get them while they last, and they will not last long.  Universities are buying them up, for scientific study.  They are that RARE.

When I tell you to get them NOW while they last, I mean it.  See the ones below that are sold out.

Temporarily SOLD out - When I say they are limited, "good ones" are limited.  And we won't buy inferior specimens.

Pyrite ammonites - Pyrite actually replaces the animal shell.  A very odd occurance.  (Calcite replaces the animal shell in most of the other ammonites.)  Pyrite ammonites are species Kosmoceras. Kosmoceras frequently have a opalized shell on the outside.  Occasionally this shell is rainbow iridescent.  Stunning colors of red, green, blue and other bright colors.  In Russia, they use a chemical solution to remove the shell on one-half of the ammonite.  This exposed the pyrite segments inside.  These are only found in Russia, in the Volga River area.  Most are around 165 million years old. Sold out.

Caloceras johnstoni - Beautiful rainbow iridescent ammonite imprinted into shale.  Golden bronze colored with sparkling rainbow highlights throughout.  These were very thin-walled Ammonites, which were crushed by tons of rock and debris during fossilization.  This is the case with most of the Ammonites found in the UK. Flattening of the specimen therefore, has increased the area of iridescence of the shell.   Making them absolutely beautiful.

The shell is composed of alternating layers of conchiolin and aragonite along with other minerals that have replaced the shell during this fossilization process. These not only transmits light but also diffract it.  Thus acting much as a "Rowland prism" to divide light into its component parts with certain wave lengths being heavily reinforced: glowing greens, spectacular reds with occasional brilliant blues and yellows.  The strongest most vibrant colors start to show thru.

These Jurassic Ammonites are about 200 million years old and some of the RAREST in the world.  They come from Doniford Bay, Somerset UK and have fossilized in a brilliant metallic BRONZE ammolite like finish.  These are very difficult to photograph and look much better in person.  They are truly beautiful and hard to capture in their true stunning colors.

The chase - Ahead of the show, I contacted the only guy that has them in Tucson last year.  He is from the UK.  Told him I wanted them all, fine, he would be in on certain date.  I got to his room at the appointed 9 a.m. the day before show even started.   He had sold them all to a store owner.  I was not happy.  I managed to find another supplier at another hotel.  Much nicer ones than we usually see.  BUT these are HUGE, larger than a tennis ball can lid.  Most of the others on the internet are quarter size to occasionally silver dollar size.  These are over 3.5" and I had to pay up, but the quality is worth it.  (Rare, always in short supply and always will be rare)

Ebay fun - Now I am going to be a little bit hard here:  Because we have a lot of folks, that either don't understand the difference in size or just submit ludicris offers because they have no life.  Not sure which.  I have set the offer at $425 to automatically reject these problem children.  IF you want to make a reasonable offer, just email me thru ebay.   More than one item will help.  Keep in mind these are hard to get AND a low margin item.  Only a few were available, so they are rare.  Besides I know the guy that bought the others and he has them priced at $695 and up in his store.  So my price is fair....and much larger better quality.  These won't last, you should get them while they are available.

Hemitetragonites and Neosilisites - Both are Medium Body not as wide as Cymatoceras, nor as thin as Cleoniceras.  Some where in the middle - Goldielocks would say, "Just right".  They are usually presented WHOLE.  Unique suture patterns on the outside.  And most interesting they have flattened sides.  They others are rounded. Really cool, some stand without a stand.  (Very Limited supply)
Sold out.

Melchlorites - Similiar to above but with a cross band on the sides and a rounded shell.  Medium body.  (Limited supply) Sold out.

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Madagascar Ladies Coop -  Most ammonites come from Madagascar, off the coast of Africa.  Madagascar has all the problems that that the African continent has.  One way you and I can combat this is to buy our ammonites from a 'Ladies Coop'.   This is where I get my ammonites.  Not all dealers buy from this source. We will get to the 'ladies coop' in a minute.

A few facts about Madagascar - Average per capita income is $1000 to $1553 per year.  With an average family size of 6.6. 

That makes the average family income in Madagascar $6,600 to $10,000 per year.  Enough for the basics, but not much else.  Imagine trying to feed your family of 6-7 people with only $6600 per year?

Madagascar families have hard working people, they don't want a 'hand out'.  But folks, we can give them a 'hand up'.  The men go out and do the digging and rough surface mining.  Hot sweaty, back breaking work. The women at the 'ladies co-op' work together as a team.  Splitting or cutting the ammonite down the middle with a diamond saw.  Then polishing the inside to a high gloss and then polishing outside to show the shells' true variety.  This can take up to 6 hours per ammonite.

Today 90% of the animals on Madagascar are found no where else.  Even in ancient times the ammonites of Madagascar's shallow sea were unique.  And no other local produces ammonites of such wide ranging colors.  Of the affordable ammonites, Madagascar produces the best and most colorful.

Your purchase helps feed a family in Madagascar.

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Box Sizes - For simplicity sake we have gone to 4 box sizes.  You need to add a minimum 1" (2.5cm) to EACH side of ALL minerals for bubblewrap.    1"inch bubblewrap top, 1" bubblewrap bottom, and 1" on each side.  So a 2"x2"x2" mineral becomes 4"x4"x4" with bubblewrap.

Insurance - Insurance is now included with the shipping price.  And may be added to the above shipping price depending upon how fragile and expensive the item is.

Parcel post - US customers, we no longer ship parcel post. It saves a few pennies sometimes, however it now takes 8 to 10 days to get your shipment. Which is too long for most of you to wait.

International shipping -can take 3 to 4 weeks.  Your country's customs can keep and inspect packages as long as they like.  WE can to NOTHING about that.  

Canadian customers - we no longer ship United Parcel Service - UPS.  Yes initially UPS is ever so slightly cheaper, however we have had terrible problems with UPS making customers get a customs broker.  This has cost the customer over $100 extra.  On two other occasions they have sent back packages, because the address was street instead of drive (the customer inputs the address, not us).   So we no longer will ship UPS.  For some reason the US postal service does not do all this.

Combined shipping -  If you want combined shipping PLEASE email us.  WE have no way of knowing when you are finished bidding.  Ebay sends automatic invoices.  Ebay will charge the maximum shipping PER item, if I do not override the invoice.  So bid all you like, but let us know "You want combined shipping."  And we will send you a combined the next day to pay.

 If you want combined shipping PLEASE email us

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Stands -are shown for display only and are NOT included in the auction. 

Repairs (Restoration) - All fossils have some repairs or restoration. Being buried under tons of rubble tends to be rough.  None comes out of the ground perfect and whole.  Almost all fossils have restoration done.  One of the reasons I photograph the back is so that you can see the restoration work that has been done.  Generally you can not tell from the front that an ammonite/fossil has been restored to their original beauty.

Almost all of the fossils you see in a musuem have had some type of restoration work done.  Only tiny fossils have minimal restoration work on them.  The folks in Madagascar do a very professional job, however occasionally natural cracks are visible on the surface.  This is part of the natural beauty of the fossil and not considered a defect.  Simply hit 'supersize' on the picture to get a bigger view. 

Photography - Ammonites, especially the opalized ones are not easy to photograph.  I photograph outside in full sun for true color rendition.  Occasionally clouds come over that make the color less than it really is.  On rare occasions I supplement with a flash to highlight details.   Lighting ammonites correctly will bring out their best color.  Halogen works the best.  The hand or finger and/or dime in the photo is to give you a comparision of size.  We realize it is hard to tell the size of an ammonite by the picture alone.  Keep in mind different monitors display colors differently.  We edit with ammonite next to us, so we can get as close to the correct color as possible.  However when we move the very same laptop from living room to office sometimes the colors look slightly different, even on the same computer.

Measurements - All ammonites are measured from the tip to across.  This is the industry standard.  Then we measure across. 

Offers - We do consider "reasonable" offers.  Unfortunately fossils and ammonites in particular are a low margin item.  So that is why most mineral dealers don't want to mess with them.   So our price is not to far from what we pay for them, so as we say in Texas, "there is no meat left on the bone". 

Conclusion -

Fossils, and ammonites in particular, at one time were only found in museums.  And cost hundreds to thousands of dollars.  Today YOU can own a piece of the fossil record.  An animal that lived over 100 million years ago.