I am not really sure what to do with this dinosaur bone I have.
It was discovered in the 1950s I think somewhere in Colorado, Wyoming or the Dakotas. Found by my father who was a professional archaeologist later in life. If I recall correctly it is the horn of a multi-horned dinosaur and may have been a Styracosaurus or something similar. As you may see, it is about ten inches long and four inches wide. I would guess it weighs four pounds or 2 kilos.
I have had it since I was a kid. It is one of my prized possessions but all I know about it is that it was unearthed about there and about then and may be that thing. My dad died a long time ago and the provenance chain ended with him as I have no documentation.
I am conflicted about what to do as I would like to know more but I fear that if I turn to a professional source for advice, it may turn out I am possession of an artifact illegally and it may be confiscated. Going to a museum would be absolutely fine but not into the government's administrative abyss.
So what do you think is my best course of action?
Here a a few more pics if anyone is curious:
Figure out when the local gem and mineral show is around you. Bring your fossil but leave it in the car. Approach any of the guys there that are rocking fossils (there will be many) and tell them you have a Styracosaurus horn, it was found by your father, and you want to be able to show it in a cool way. They'll give you all sorts of suggestions about mounting, polishing, etc.
Trade in fossils is nothing like trade in antiquities. Fossil sales are mundane (and rife with forgeries) with very little control. Unless you have strong reason to believe your specimen is archeologically vital, there's no reason not to enjoy it. Me? I'd get one side of it polished and then mount it. There might be some really cool structure you aren't seeing that would really set it off. Again, I'd ask at the lapidary show.
posted 3147 days ago