I face a conundrum. There are two teeth, same species, different locations. One tooth is in fantastic condition with no real damage to speak of. It comes from a location where the species is much more common than the location of the second tooth. The other is a complete tooth but it has a few minor dings. But it is very rare for the location. I can only have one. Which should I choose?

I am leaning toward the nicer tooth because I am a sucker for quality. But I also like rare... hmmmm

I'd be cautious obtaining a dinged up tooth just because it is supposed to be rare (or from a rare location). Some things are rare for a little while, then become abundant, and some things are considered rare because no one hunts for them. A couple of cases in point--the Ecphora (Stenomphalus) aurora was  non-existent in Aurora since the late 80's. They are now found every weekend. Carcharoides catticus and starfish arm pieces are supposed to be extremely rare but quite easily found in reject (lower Pungo) dirt. Ditto with whale shark teeth. My first foray into the Paleocene resulted in three Paleocarcharodon teeth-supposedly rare. Bryozoans are supposed to be overly bountiful everywhere, but I found not one single example of one in the Paleocene. At the mine in Aurora, amber and fossil wood are considered two of the rarest finds. They're not uncommon at all in reject. Dont collect junk-you'll eventually end up discarding it.

Signed: "Not a 10 but a diamind in the rough"

we'll being up in the hills of n.c, a find is a find but i'm partial to the 10 i mean quality

Just to clarify my position - if I was attempting to add a tooth to my collection by any means other than finding it myself, I would go for the "10" too.  In opting for the rare location, I was trying to compare teeth that I find in the field to those teeth found at a commercial source such as eBay.  My collection is composed almost entirely of teeth that I myself found, with one exception- I did purchase a Moroccan Palaeocarcharodon, and I kinda wish I hadn't bought it now.  It's in perfect condition, but it just doesn't have the same appeal for me as it would if I had found it in the field.  I have been hitting the Potomac lately in hopes of finding one, even if it is somewhat worn, with no luck so far.  I know, however, that when I am successful in this search, I will treasure the one I find much more than the one I bought, regardless of it's condition.  I may even sell that perfect Morrocan tooth on eBay myself.  I agree with Pat that collecting junk is not a smart thing to do, especially if doing so involves giving up some of your hard-earned income, but I would argue that what is considered by one person to be a junk tooth might be the greatest treasure in the world to another.