Petrified Wood: Identification, Authenticity & Value

Mineralized wood collected as rough branches, slabs, rounds, polished displays, and scientifically informative growth structures.

Identification checklist

Record the specimen as an object before accepting a taxonomic label. Look for the following features and photograph them with a scale:

• Wood grain, growth rings, rays, pores, or cellular structure
• Mineral replacement rather than surface coating
• Cut and polish that reveal structure without disguising repairs

Preparation and authenticity risks

Preparation is not automatically deception. The critical issue is whether the work is visible, anatomically reasonable, stable, and disclosed.

• Dyed or stabilized material sold without disclosure
• Concrete or resin imitations
• Locality stories that conflict with appearance

What tends to affect collector value

Value is comparative and can change substantially with small differences in completeness, preparation, provenance, or restoration.

• color and cellular preservation
• size, polish quality, and natural edges
• documented locality and legal source

Questions to ask a seller

1. What country, region, formation, or quarry produced the specimen?
2. Which portions are original fossil material, matrix, filler, adhesive, paint, or reconstruction?
3. What repairs, stabilization, polishing, acid preparation, or mechanical preparation were performed?
4. What dimensions are being measured, and is the scale included in photographs?
5. What documentation supports legal collection, ownership, and export?

Preservation priorities

Do not clean or consolidate until you understand the matrix and mineralogy. Photograph the specimen and all labels first. Store it with stable support, moderate conditions, and a collection record that preserves the seller, date, claimed locality, preparation disclosures, and original images.