Yates, Donna (2026). Illusions of Rarity and Value in Competing Megalodon Tooth Markets. In: Low-End Markets for Art and Cultural Goods: Understanding the Economic, Cultural and Social Dynamics of Low-Value Goods. A.-S. Radermecker (ed.) Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-27566-0_12

In this chapter, I use Megalodon shark teeth to explore the effect of placement within high-end art spaces on perceptions of value of abundant fossils. Starting with commodities theory and by considering the “artification” effect, I discuss how the perception of fossil rarity is amplified by the creation and maintenance of a “desirescape.” Potential bidders, responding to this persuasive desirescape and without reference to more realistic points of reference for tooth value, upped the price. The immediate results of this have been a perception of increasing price within traditional Megalodon teeth markets that appears divorced from the traditional construction of tooth availability and value. All told, this view of the Megalodon tooth market shows how low-end objects can become high-end objects through the networked relationships present in high-end marketplaces.

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