RARE Giant Lily Positive-Negative Fossil Lake Green River Fm Wyoming WY COA 3623

Description

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this order.
For the collector or museum curator interested in rare and valuable specimens for an advanced Green River Formation Fossil Collection....
This may be the only time you will see this species for sale.
This is a fossil giant lily pad, both the positive and negative sides, from the world-famous fossil beds of Fossil Lake, Fossil Butte Member (FBM), Green River Formation, Wyoming. From the Eocene, about 52 million years ago.
I am going to defer to the book The Lost World of Fossil Lake, by Dr. Lance Grande, one of the world's premier authorities on the subject.  On page 310, Dr. Grande writes, "Lotus, or false water lilies (family Nelumbonaceae), are well represented in the FBM by lily pads, seed pods, and root systems...The most abundant species is the one...with lily pads ranging from 100 to 200 millimeters (4 to 8 inches) in diameter...  *****Another undescribed species, so far only in private collections, is a very large form, more than 500 millimeters (20 inches) in diameter."
***** (asterisks added)
The radius of the specimen ranges from about 7 inches to almost 8 inches. If we had the whole pad, that would equate to a diameter of about 14 to possibly close to 16 inches.    These look similar to the Nelumbo on page 311, but this is much too big to be a Nelumbo (4-8"), so it must be the species that is described as "very large, and only in private collections" (at least as of 2013 when the book was published).
And here is the positive and the negative of the same giant "very large" lily pad. Neither has the complete lily, but both have a lot of it, including the center.
Each plate is irregular shape, about 14" by 14", and they weigh about 12 lbs. each.
Both plates have been professionally backed with a piece of plywood for strength. A few small chips from near the edge may come off in shipping, but no enough to hurt the beauty of the piece. If you are not okay with that, please do not order.  There is no paint or restoration. Sorry the lilies fossilized so lightly, but we did not want to add paint. See photo 2 for scale.
We are happy to enclose a COA (Certificate of Authenticity).  Some words of caution about COA’s: Do not let them become a substitute for learning about the fossils. We have been working with fossils for many years, and we have seen hundreds of very nice-looking COA’s, some that are wrong, mis-describing a specimen. In addition, the person selling the item is often the one who writes the COA (potential conflict of interest). Finally, a COA without a photo of the exact item described, as part of that COA, is worthless, as it can later be placed next to any other fossil.  We suggest that instead of relying on a COA, that people read and study the subject.
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IMPORTANT: If you are not satisfied with your order, please contact us, and let us make it right,
before
giving any feedback.  We want to make sure you are fairly treated by us always.
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We cordially invite you to visit our store, and see items and fossils ranging from budget to world-class.
You will receive the exact item described and photographed, unless clearly stated otherwise.
COMBINED SHIPPING:  If you are in the process of buying multiple items from us, use the “Add to Cart” box, rather than buy them separately.  When you are ready to buy all the items in the cart, ask for an invoice from the seller (us).  We will calculate the best shipping price we can give you for all the items together, and send you an invoice reflecting any shipping savings to you.   We will do our best to combine purchases to save shipping costs. In some cases, that is easy, in some cases, not so much.  Our items are of vastly different sizes and weights, but we do not use shipping as a profit center.
On shipments with values of 0 or more, a signature will be required.
We will ship this only to the United States.  We are not responsible if the buyer reships it somewhere else, after receiving it from us. Our responsibility ends at the destination we ship it to.  If you take it out of the United States, you are on your own.
Return Policy:   If you are not satisfied with your item, please contact us within 72 hours of receiving the item.  We'll refund your purchase price, minus shipping charges, upon safe return of the item in original condition (item cannot be altered or damaged) within 30 days of buyer’s receipt of item. Failure to contact us within 72 hours of receipt of item, voids this offer. Buyer is responsible for all return shipping charges.   Item must arrive to us in same condition as buyer received it (check photos in original description), or the return offer is voided.
Damage:   If your item arrives damaged, please contact us within 24 hours of receiving as we will be happy to resolve any issue.  Buyer must contact us within 24 hours of receipt of item to claim damage in shipping.
With this type of specimen, a tiny amount of it may break off in shipping, but not enough to alter the beauty of the piece. I wrap it very carefully in multiple layers of wrap. If that is not acceptable to you, please do not order.
3623    storage PHTORM