We provide a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) with every purchase from Fossil Soup

If any repair or restoration has taken place, we identify the work and document it on the product page of the item. It should be noted that for dinosaurs, if a fossil is found containing 50% of the bones it is considered complete. In some cases “complete” skeletons may also be a composite of more than one animal.

Repair, restoration and composition are all acceptable fossil preparation techniques as long as the customer is presented with the facts. We endeavor to provide as much information as possible to allow you to make a decision on a purchase.

All good questions!

All of these processes are acceptable methods of preparation and will generally improve the presentation of the piece. The important caveat is that the customer is informed of any work that has taken place.

Repair - The putting back together of parts that have broken. No new material is added in the process. This may happen when a rock is split and both sides of the split show the lines of a trilobite. Glueing the rock back together and preparing the fossil may leave a line where the rock was split.

Restoration - The addition of material to make up for lost or missing parts. Generally this happens when an otherwise exquisite piece has minor loss. For example, a trilobite may have broken or missing parts on some of the pleural lobes. Restoring the missing parts can enhance the appearance of the piece.

Composition - Often referred to as “Frankensteins”, these are fossils that are made up of parts from more than one animal of the same species. This technique is generally considered to improve the visual appearance of the fossil by the addition of parts that were either lost, weathered, or just missing.

For all of the above, we are very transparent in the documentation of our listings. If the fossil is repaired, restored or a composite, information is provided.

We do not currently sell replica fossils. All items listed on Fossil Soup are real.

Thanks for asking! Click here to be re-directed to the archive page. You will need the SKU number on the Certificate of Autchenticity to search for your fossil.