We here at the Meg MawL pride ourselves on being very conservative when it comes to grading the quality of our shark teeth. You will find that the tooth is much better quality than our descriptions lead you to believe.
Grades are dependent on 10 characteristics (in BOLDFACE).
Carcharocles Megalodon Shark Teeth Grading System Example:
| Tooth # | CMX-8234 |
| Size (inches) | 5.3 |
| Location | SC |
| Tip Damage | 4 |
| Serrations | 0 |
| Enamel Loss | 10 |
| Enamel Cracks | 50 |
| Enamel Nicks | 8 |
| Enamel Shine | 10 |
| Bourrelet Loss | 80 |
| Root Loss | 5 |
| Root Chips | 5 |
| Root Cracks | 25 |
| Grade | 8.43 |
| Cost | $180.00 |
We combine these 10 separate numbers using a proprietary formula we have developed over the years to come up with the "Grade".
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Characteristic Values:
1. Tip Damage -- Draw an outline around the tooth on a piece of paper.
Draw in the missing part of the tip. Measure the longest SLANT HEIGHT of the tooth (SH). Measure the missing part of the tip (MT) If the MT is 1/10 of the SH, the Tip Damage is 100%. Ex. MT = 0.5", SH = 5.0" (If it's more, the tooth is too poor of quality to grade) If the MT is 1/20 of the SH, the Tip Damage is 50%. Ex. MT = 0.25", SH = 5.0" If the MT is 1/40 of the SH, the Tip Damage is 25%. Ex. MT = 0.125", SH = 5.0"
If the MT is 0, Tip Damage is 0 (Pristine)
2. Serrations -- Percent of height of serrations worn away.
No serrations = 100; Pristine serrations = 0
3. Enamel Loss -- Percent of enamel missing from the front and back of the tooth. (Assume 50% of the total enamel is on the front and 50% on the back.) No loss = 0; No enamel = 100
4. Enamel Cracks -- Percentage of the total surface of the enamel (front & back) that is cracked.
No cracks = 0; Cracked front & back to edge = 100
5. Enamel Nicks -- Percent of edge of enamel part of tooth covered by nicks or chips.
No nicks = 0; Completely nicked = 100
6. Enamel Shine -- Percent shine missing.
No shine = 100; Perfect shine = 0
7. Bourrelet Loss -- Percent of Bourrelet coating missing.
No bourrelet = 100; All present = 0
8. Root Loss -- Percentage of root worn away.
No root = 100; Complete root = 0
9. Root Chips -- Percent of root surface chipped off.
No Chips = 0; No root = 100
10. Root Cracks -- Percent of root surface cracked.
No Cracks = 0; Entire surface
cracked = 100
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Some of these 10 criteria can be further refined (see examples below).
Tip:
Missing: Some percentage of the end of the tooth is missing.
Broken: Tip is broken back into the dentin.
Worn: Tip enamel is worn off.
Rounded: Tip enamel is rounded.
Sharp: Tip is pointed with no serrations. The rest of the tooth may be serrated.
Outstanding: Tip serrations are not easy to see with the naked eye; can be felt by running finger nail along the cutting tip.
Pristine: Tip is intact with visible serrations.
Serrations:
Absent: Cannot be seen with the aid of a microscope.
Weak: Can be seen clearly only with the aid of a magnifying glass or a microscope.
Very Fine: Not easy to see with the naked eye; can be felt by running finger nail along the cutting edge.
Fine: Visible to the naked eye; the number of serrations is not easily countable with the naked eye.
Coarse: The number of serrations is easily countable with the naked eye.
Excellent: No more than 30% of the original height of the serrations is lost.
Pristine: DO NOT draw the edge across your skin.
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GRADES
In general:
Grade 1 teeth are partials (half a tooth or less), some with good serrations.
Grade 2 teeth have most of the root broken off, degraded tips and serrations.
Grade 3 teeth have a "root ear" broken off.
Grade 4 teeth have significant enamel and/or dentin loss with other problems.
Grade 5 teeth have top root loss or broken tips.
If Grade 6 teeth have serrations they may have a degraded tip or some other defect. If they have serrations and a "sharp" tip, they will have weaknesses in other areas. They are usually 90% to 95% complete teeth.
Grade 7 teeth will generally have "absent" to "very fine" serrations and a "rounded" or "sharp" tip but are GENERALLY full, complete teeth.
Grade 8 teeth have "fine" serrations and an "sharp" tip or "coarse" serrations and a "rounded" tip. There maybe weaknesses in other areas, such as feeding damage, slight enamel peel or root loss.
Grade 9 teeth will generally have "coarse" serrations and a "sharp" or better tip. Two or more of the other 12 factors may have slight weaknesses like bourrelet or enamel edge loss.
Grade 10 teeth have "pristine" serrations, a "pristine" tip, complete root and full enamel. They may have small stress cracks in the root or hydration cracks in the enamel and/or loss of "shine". Teeth Graded 10.99 are perfect. We consider teeth of this grade to be exceptionally rare.
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Additional factors that affect the final price of the tooth:
Size -- There is a price step for teeth larger than 5", a significant price jump for teeth larger than 6" and an astronomical leap for teeth over 7".
Appearance -- Color, Mottling, Pyritization, Chatoyance, Fanged, Curved, Pathological Features, etc.
Dentition -- The position of the tooth in the jaw (anterior, lateral, posterior, etc).
Rare Location:
1. South Carolina
2. Florida
3. Maryland
4. North Carolina
5. Virginia
6. Georgia
7. Morocco
8. California
9. Chile, Peru
10. Japan
11. Pacific Ocean
12. Etc.
Copyright Meg MawL © 1997 - 2002. All rights reserved.