Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 82

The Fall Manuscript, Collectibles, Stamp and Space Memorabilia Auction

Fossils

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 1466		Complete Psittacosaurus Skull. Psittacosaurus is a very important dinosaur that lived between 120-130 million years ago in Liaoning Province, Central Asia. Psittacosaurus is important as being the oldest ancestor of the famous horned dinosaurs such as Triceratops. Psittacosaurus did not have horns but did possess a horned beak and bony jugals (back of the upper jaw), which are characteristic of only ceroptopsian (horned) dinosaurs. Psittacosaurus is the most studied of all dinosaurs because it is known from all stages from hatchling to adult. With eggs about 3 inches long, the hatchlings were about 6 inches long and adult Psittacosaurs were over 4 feet long. This important juvenile dinosaur skull is 4.25 x 3.25 inches completely removed from its hard stony matrix except for the back of the skull which was left for stability. More than 10 hours of careful detailed work was required to remove the hard stone matrix from inside the skull. It is a good skull with solid bone and just slightly distorted with some restoration on the teeth. The important jugals, fenestrae and eye holes are completely cut out and show excellent detail. This impressive dinosaur skull has been mounted on a 5 x 3 inch custom black wooden stand for display. Add $25 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $1,500 - 2,000. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 1467		Spinosaurus Foot Claw and Toe Bone. Made famous in "Jurassic Park III" as the dinosaur that killed a T-Rex, the enormous theropod dinosaur Spinosaurus with a huge sail on its back remains an enigmatic dinosaur as no even remotely complete skeleton has ever been found and the only partial skeleton was destroyed in World War II. Spinosaurus is mostly known from its teeth which are fairly common but usually broken and ugly. Claws are rarely found and big claws such as this 3.5 inch complete museum quality foot claw showing all of the bold grooves with a perfect tip and no restoration plus a 1.6 inch phalanx, usually only seen in museums. Claws are much rarer than teeth because dinosaurs could replace their teeth but not their claws. This 80 million year old dinosaur claw and toe bone were found in the Kem Kem Valley near Taouz, Morocco. These museum quality fossils are housed in a 8 x 6 inch Riker mount. Add $20 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $1,300 - 1,800. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 1468		Oviraptor Dinosaur Egg. This original, fully inflated, unhatched Oviraptor egg is 70-80 million years old from the Djadokhta formation of Ukhaa Tolgod of Mongolia. This dark brown fully prepped egg was found in the Gobi desert and is a huge 7.5 inches long and 3.5 inches wide with over 85% of the original shell on the top side and about 30 % shell on the bottom side of the egg which is still preserved in its original red stone matrix. The mineral layers of matrix on top of the eggs has been carefully airbrushed off. This museum quality egg belongs to the largest of the two Oviraptor species called Citipati to distinguish this difference from the other smaller species. Citipati Oviraptorids were made famous by the nest of eggs with the mother Citipati sitting on top of the eggs in a brooding position. This famous specimen is displayed in the New York Museum of Natural History and was discovered in 1995. It was revolutionary to discover a dinosaur sitting on top of its eggs like a bird and only later was it discovered that Oviraptors such as Citipati also had feathers like a bird. Citipati eggs are ratite in texture and have a very thin shell which is why they are rarely found complete. This complete unhatched egg could contain some embryonic bones inside as typically, about 20% of the unhatched Oviraptor eggs contain some embryonic bones. The bones are always disarticulated and usually are jumbled together in a small area. This egg is special even if it does not contain any embryonic bones, because it has sharp shell detail, is uncrushed.and has not been flattened like most of the Oviraptor eggs available. Add $25 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $1,300 - 1,800. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $892
Lot 1469		Complete Manchurochelys Turtle. Turtles are unique in the animal world having their entire torso embedded in a bony shell casing. There still is no consensus about their origins. Turtle fossils are usually just the carapace without the head and limbs. This 125 million year old fossil 6 inches long Manchurochelys sp. from Liaoning, China is the rare exception having an excellent 1.5 inch skull and all four limbs, feet and tail. This turtle has a complete shell and its medium brown color is nicely contrasted against the lighter beige 6.25 x 5.3 inch stone matrix. Manchurochelys was a Crytodira turtle that could not withdraw its head and limbs inside like modern turtles. A rare, spectacular and well detailed fossil turtle. Add $20 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,500. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $930
Lot 1470		Complete Sea Scorpion and Large Partial. Eurypterids also known as sea scorpions were fierce predators in the warm seas 425 million years ago. Some grew to over 6 feet long and easily hunted the slow moving armored fish of that era. Eurypterids were related to scorpions and were probably the first animal to leave the sea and crawl out on dry land. This complete highly detailed 7 inch sea scorpion, Eurypterus remipes comes from the famous 425 million year old Fiddler's Green Quarry of Herkimer County, New York. This excellent specimen is complete with an a sharp telson (looks like the stinger on a scorpion but was not poisonous in the sea scorpion.) Both paddles are preserved, although one is disarticulated. Also present is a huge 3 inch head of an even larger Eurypterid that has two of the rarely preserved walking legs visible as well as two 2.5 inch paddles that have three tooth-like hooks on the ends of the paddles that were used for traction when crawling on the ocean floor. The dark brown Eurypterids are nicely contrasted on a 11 x 10" dark gray matrix. The matrix has been repaired but this does not affect the fossils. These gray rocks are so hard that they often have to be blasted open with dynamite and then opened with a chisel and hammer which results in the rock breaking. Add $20 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,500. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 1471		Huge 17 Inch Diplomystus. Some of the best preserved fish in the fossil record are found in the 50-52 million year old Green River Wyoming fossil fresh water lake beds. The vast majority of the fish found are small measuring only 2-4 inches long. This museum quality lot is the exception with a huge 17 inch long (close to the maximum size) Diplomystus which was an extinct member of the herring family. The huge fish is complete with outstanding skin, fins and even some sharp little teeth in its distinctive upturned mouth that enabled it to feed on small fish and creatures near the surface of the lake. The dark brown fish is nicely contrasted on the cream colored 28 x 18 inch sandstone matrix. This museum quality fish has been framed with a dark brown frame and is ready to be hung if so desired (hooks attached on back), although it can be displayed just as is. Add $35 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $900 - 1,300. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 1472		Carcharodontosaurus Dinosaur Tooth. Large 3.5 inch long by 1.50 inch wide complete dinosaur tooth of Carcharodontosaurus saharicus, the T-Rex of Africa. Even though Carcharodontosaurus was even larger that a T-Rex, most of the teeth found are only 1.5 to 2.5 inches long. This complete brown shed tooth has excellent enamel with only very minor enamel chipping on the bottom and on a couple of small areas on the edges. Most of the steak knife-like serrations are present and sharp on both edges of the tooth with only minor breaks. This large impressive tooth was found in the Sahara desert of Morocco. Carcharodontosaurus was older than a T-Rex at 70-80 million years old and is an excellent value for a huge carnivorous dinosaur tooth as a T-Rex tooth this size would cost more than $5,000. Housed in a 6 x 5 inch Riker mount. Add $15 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $800 - 1,200. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $517
Lot 1473		Short Tailed Sting Ray. Cyclobatis major was a 100 million year old short tailed sting ray found in the famous limestones of Hegel, Lebanon and is now extinct. This complete 4.25 x 2.8 inch museum quality specimen is unusually well preserved on a 6.75 x 4.25 inch limestone matrix with every tiny bone in the rays being preserved along with all of the delicate bones in the tail. Typically, some of the bones in the rays are missing along with part of the tail. These extinct rays were smaller than existing rays and almost totally round with a diminutive delicate tail. Add $20 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $800 - 1,100. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $576
Lot 1474		Pair of Fossil Crabs. Archaeoperyon puruvianus was a 25 million year old fossil crab from Argentina. What makes this fossil special is that there are two large crabs the largest being eight inches and the smaller one 6½ inches long side by side as found in their original 14½ x 5 inch stone matrix. Both crabs have complete carapaces and large claws with shearing teeth-like projections lining the claws with only the ends of some of the legs missing. There was a crack in the matrix that has been repaired but it does not affect the fossils. Almost all fossils do not come out of the rock matrix where they are found with the matrix completely intact. Most specimens need to have some repair on their stone matrix. Finding one complete crab is rare but it is very unusual to find two crabs together in the same matrix and this makes for an impressive display. Comes with a plastic stand for display. Add $30 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $750 - 1,200. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 1475		Dinosaur Egg, Museum Quality. This large complete unhatched Duckbill dinosaur egg is 70-80 million years old 5.5 x 5.5 inches in diameter and of museum quality with over 85 percent of its original shell intact. The egg is completely original with an attractive dark brown color with most of the top of the egg completely intact and not even cracked which is very unusual. There is only some minor cracking along the side of this extraordinary egg. The egg is sitting on a 4 x 3.5 inch reddish-brown section of the original stone matrix. We do not know to what Duckbill species this egg belongs as no embryonic bones have every been found in the Duckbill dinosaur eggs, but we do know that is belongs to a species of Duckbill Dinosaur such as the huge Duckbill dinosaur Shantungosaurus which reached more than 50 feet in length and has been found in the same area in the Henan Province of China. This museum quality dino egg makes an excellent display having much more original egg shell than normally found and rests on a small section of its reddish brown limestone matrix. This exquisite egg has been the showpiece of a private collection for over 15 years. Add $30 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $750 - 1,000. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $630
Lot 1476		Trilobite Mass Mortality Plate. Some natural disaster occurred 480 million years ago to bury these 15 trilobites in their living position. What activity brought so many trilobites together can only be guessed at but some trilobite mating ritual is one possibility. These spectacular 3-D trilobites are from the Ordovician Kaoua formation of Southern Morocco. The mostly complete black trilobites, Omnia superba, are nicely contrasted against the cream colored 10 x 6 inch light brown stone matrix. Ommia superba is a very distinctive looking trilobite with a bulbous "nose" on its head (cephalon) as well as an interesting dimpled pattern on the front edge of the head. Also, it is considered a spiny trilobite as it has two long spines extending back from its head to the rear (pygidium) of its three part body. All 15 of these 100% original trilobites look very life-like as if they are crawling on the rolling ocean bottom. Add $25 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $700 - 1,000. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $504
Lot 1477		Rare Cretaceous Shark. Many interesting fish and sea creatures are found in the 97-100 million year old fossils from the Hakel Quarry of Hajoula, Lebanon. This excellent variety of fish occurs because this was a salt water shallow sea 97 million years ago. This 7 x 6.5 inch limestone matrix contains a rare shark fossil, Paratriakis curirostris which is 6.5 inches long and virtually complete with two dorsal fins and its delicate tail. Since sharks are cartilaginous not having solid bone, usually only their teeth are preserved. Also, there is a bonus fossil, a small prey fish 1.75 inches that is just in front of the fossil shark which gives the appearance that the shark was chasing this small fish. A rare fossil for shark lovers. Add $20 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $600 - 800. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 1478		Pair of Dinosaur Footprints. This pair of rare fossil dinosaur footprints are a dark brown in color on a 13 x 9 inch light gray shale slab containing footprints from two different bipedal theropod dinosaurs Eubrontes and Grallator. The larger dinosaur footprint is just overtop the smaller footprint looking as if the larger dinosaur was chasing the smaller one. The huge Eubrontes footprint is 12 inches long and 5.5 inches wide with all three toes deeply impressed up to 1 inch above the matrix. There is a clear claw impression on the middle toe but only about 25% of the left toe is on the matrix. Eubrontes is the name of the footprint not the name of the dinosaur that left it. The largest known dinosaur to have inhabited the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts(near Holyoke) 200 million years ago was Dilophosaurus (made famous by the movie Jurassic Park). The footprint matches both the size and shape of the twenty foot long Dilophosaurus. The second smaller 6X4 inch foot print is know as Grallator which exact species of dinosaur that left it is still unknown although it is similar in shape and size to the meat eating dinosaur Podokesaurus, a medium sized theropod, whose partial skeleton was found in the same area. These footprints are the more highly valued positive raised impressions which preserve the most detail of the dinosaur stepping in soft mud preserving some pad and claw details. All of the theropod dinosaur footprints preserve just three toes as theropods walked on their 2nd, 3rd and 4th toes which correspond to the three middle human toes. Add $25 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $600 - 900. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $432
Lot 1479		Carcharodon Megalodon Shark's Tooth. Carcharodon megalodon was the largest shark that ever lived growing to more than 50 feet in length and ate whales whose bones are found right alongside with the huge teeth of megalodon. This immense just over 6 inch 15 million year old Carcharodon tooth was found in the muddy river waters of South Carolina. Estimating the length of a shark at about 10 feet in length to every one inch of tooth, this behemoth would be over 60 feet long. This huge tooth has lovely beige to brown enamel, a complete medium gray root and extremely sharp serrations (as sharp as a knife) on the edges. Everything is original except for some minor professional restoration to about 1.5 inches of the upper left enamel, some smoothing of the roots to cover some cracks, and a 1.5 inch break on the tip has been repaired with a couple of chips in the enamel. The size of this tooth is very desirable being over the magic 6 inches and the appearance of the tooth is spectacular with exceptional color of the enamel and sharp original serrations. This spectacular tooth comes with a custom stand for display identified as "MEGALODON". Add $20 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $550 - 800. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $420
Lot 1480		Carcharodon Megalodon Shark's Tooth. Even though Carcharodon megalodon was the largest shark that ever lived growing to more than 50 feet in length most of the teeth found are only 3-4 inches in length. Teeth over 5 inches in length are in great demand and the magic number is a full 6 inches which is the size that every collector aspires to own. Even if the shark was 60 feet long, only a few of the teeth in the center of the lower and upper jaws would reach 6 inches in length. This immense 6 1/8 inch 10-15 million year old Carcharodon tooth was found in the muddy river waters of Beaufort County, South Carolina. This massive tooth is complete with green and dark brown enamel and a black root. There are no serrations on the blade and there is some minor chipping on the edge. There appears to have been some minor restoration done to both the root and on the edge of the blade. Even though it is not perfect this tooth is about as massive as can be found and comes with a custom stand for display identified as "MEGALODON". Add $15 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $550 - 800. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $360
Lot 1481		Squid and Viper Fish Fossils. There was a shallow salt water sea 100 million years ago in and around Hajoula, Lebanon. Fortunately, many types of sea creatures were preserved in fine grained limestone from this area. This lot contains a 5 inch long predatory Viper fish (Europholis sp.) virtually complete with sharp little teeth on the upper jaw with its mouth open about to devour a small partial fish located in front of its head. Also on another small slab there is a 2 inch long squid (Trachyteuthis) that shows excellent detail for a soft bodied animal with a black area that preserves the remnants of its last meal as well as the ink sac which appears as a brown bullet shaped area. There are even faint short stubs of some of the tentacles at one end. Squid fossils are very rare because squid possess no skeletons. Both of these fossils are nicely highlighted on their lighter limestone matrix and displayed in a 14 x 8 inch Riker Mount. Add $25 for domestic shipping: $25. Estimated Value $550 - 650. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 1482		Pair of Shrimp. More species of fish and other sea creatures are found in the 100 million year old Hakel Quarry of Hajoula, Lebanon. Because of the fine grain limestone excellent detail of the fossils is preserved. This 11 x 8 inch limestone matrix contains two different species of shrimp. The larger specimen Carpopenaes callirostris has a highly detailed 4 inch long body, a two inch antennae, and three inch long grasping claws. The smaller Carpopenaeus spinator has a two inch long body with three inch long antennae. Add $20 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $550 - 750. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 1483		Keichousaurus Skeleton. Keichousaurus hui was the 240 million year old ancestor from Guizhou Province, China of the famous long necked sea reptiles Plesiosaurus which was made famous as being the mysterious Loch Ness monster. Keichousaurus also lived in the ocean and had a long, flexible neck, tiny sharp teeth, webbed feet and a tail as long as its neck. This 8 inch long excellent 3-D fossil (an adult) has well defined black bones and an excellent skull preserved with several of the small pointed teeth and is well positioned on a 8.5 x 4.5 inch dark grey slate matrix. All of the bones present are original and of top quality with all four legs present but the some of the back two legs are preserved under the body and some of the toe bones and claws are disarticulated or missing. Only the end of the tail is missing. Add $20 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $550 - 850. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $443
Lot 1484		Collection of Four Trilobites. Trilobites come in all shapes and sizes with over 10,000 different species known. Some of the best preserved trilobites come from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. This collection of four trilobites are all 375-400 million years old. There is a 3 inch long Crotalocephalus looking like a strange bug with a bulbous head. Next is a 2 inch long Treveropyge outstretched on its stone matrix with excellent detail including faceted compound eyes visible on one of the eyes. Thysolopeltis is a 1.25 inch long scarce species defined by a wide fan like pygidium (tail). And finally a truly unusual shaped 1.5 inch Harpes outstretched with a curled up tail looking somewhat like a futuristic spaceship. All four trilobites are complete and original on limestone matrixes. Add $20 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $500 - 650. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 1485		Aquatic 150 Million Year Old Reptile. Sinohydrosaurus lingyuanensisgen was a strange looking aquatic reptile with a very long neck that lived 150 million years ago in fresh water lakes in Liaoning Province, China. Sinohydrosaurus translates to Chinese water dragon. This 4.75 inch specimen on a 6.5 x 3.75 inch tuffaceous volcanic rock matrix is virtually complete (missing only some claws and a few digits in the feet) with all four legs, tiny rib bones and even smaller gastralia rib bones and most importantly an excellently detailed skull with the upper jaw filled with very small sharp teeth. There is a .6 inch part of a sea plant or bryozoan just in front of the skull. Sinohydrosaurus may be an ancient relative of the fierce Komodo Dragon. This excellent quality specimen is preserved in a 8.25 x 6.25 inch Riker Mount. Add $20 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $500 - 700. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 1486		Dinosaur Raptor Claw. This complete museum quality 2 inch long Dinosaur raptor claw is 80 million years old from Morocco and belongs to a theropod group known as the Dromaeosaurs. There were several species of Dromaeosaurs found in the Kem Kem area of Morocco at this time including Dromaeosaurus and Velociraptor made famous in the Jurassic Park movies. What all of them had in common were that they were feathered, carnivorous, and had sharp curved killing claws. This exquisite two inch long foot claw is a lovely light tan color with excellent micro bone detail of the porous bone structure that allowed blood flow into the claws. This claw would have been even larger and sharper when the dinosaur was alive covered in keratin the same substance as our finger nails. Presented in a 6 x 5 inch Riker mount. Add $15 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $375 - 550. View details and enlarged photo	Unsold
Lot 1487		Insects in Large Colombian Amber Nugget. Amber is the fossilized tree resin. Some trees produce resins to help heal breaks and gashes. Occasionally insects become trapped in the sticky amber and are mummified (dessicated) with incredible preservation of soft tissues, muscles, microscopic detail and sometimes even color. DNA has been retrieved from amber over 65 million years old at the time of the dinosaurs. The age of amber itself cannot be determined. Only the rock it is deposited in can be tested. Colombian amber is found mostly in the Andes mountains in remote regions and has not been properly dated. This amber with the classic golden honey color like Dominican Amber is probably between 1- 5 million years old. Such is the probable age of this extremely large 8½ inch clear amber nugget weighing 95.2 grams. This excellent quality clear amber nugget has been polished on all sides revealing more than a dozen brown to brownish red insects including flies, midges, beetles with the largest insect being a half inch long fly. There are some plant fossils including a small closed flower on a short stem. There appears to a 1 inch section on the end that has been repaired. The shape of this extremely clear amber nugget is interesting looking somewhat like a bird with a long tail. Add $15 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $300 - 500. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $344
Lot 1488		Two Fish Fossils. Two Lycoptera fossil fish from the Jurassic age, found in the Liaoning Province of China. Each fish is approximately 3" long and each is in a shale matrix; one measures 3½ x 4½" and the other 3½ x 3½". The fish are presented in attractive, matching display cases. Estimated Value $50 - 100. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $120
Lot 1489		Ancient Piranha Phareodus. This large 10.5 inch long Phareodus encaustus, an ancient ancestor of the Piranha, is remarkably well preserved with light beige and brown scales, detailed fins and several sharp teeth attesting to it being a fearsome predator. What is also of interest is the very detailed oval shaped scales that covered this fish's body and also the unusual thin ventral fin that was used to detect fish movement in the sea bottom. This attractive 52 million year old predatory fish from Green River, Wyoming is nicely displayed on a 12.5 x 8 inch thick limestone slab and is complete except for the tips of some of the dorsal fin and also the tips of the tail. There is no restoration. Add $20 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $450 - 700. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $271
Lot 1490		Largest Egg Known. The extinct flightless bird Aepyornis maximus produced the largest egg of any animal that ever lived including dinosaurs. The egg in this lot is 13.5 inches high and 29 inches in circumference. This was the equivalent volume of 10-12 ostrich eggs or 160 chicken eggs. Aepyornis is commonly known as the elephant bird, a name that originated from Marco Polo's account of the giant bird in 1298. He described the ten foot tall Aepyornis that weighed over half a ton as having talons large enough to seize an elephant. Aepyornis was the largerst bird that ever lived and only became extinct in the middle of the 17th century. Aepyornis only lived on the island of Madagascar and the shell from this bird that has been reconstructed to form this huge impressive egg is 10,000-20,000 years old and was found in the southern sands of Madagascar. Great care and time was spent in matching the sizes, curvature, and color of the egg fragments to put the egg back to its normal shape and size. Undoubtedly many of the egg fragments are from the same egg. The egg is quite solid and stable. There are only about a dozen unbroken Aepyornis eggs known most in museums with one selling at auction for over $25,000. This huge egg comes perched on a hand carved wooden stand for a very dramatic display. Add $35 for domestic shipping. Estimated Value $2,750 - 4,000. View details and enlarged photo	Realized $3,360