Beachcombers’ treasures are usually limited to fairly common seashells, sea glass, driftwood, and, now and then, a message in a bottle. Nonetheless, rummaging through the surf for something more interesting than an old candy wrapper can be entertaining.

Occasionally, fossils wash up on the beach, delighting beachgoers sifting through the sand for more minor finds. Fossil collecting is a unique hobby that combines time spent outside with ancient history.

Rather than digging in the dry dirt of Montana, hoping to find a raptor, it is far easier to simply wade into the water with a sieve and shovel, or even your bare hands, to look for these ancient remains. More specifically, “Fossilized shark’s teeth are an inexpensive way to start collecting fossils. They are frequently abundant on public beaches.”

While small teeth the size of your finger are the most common, fossil hunters occasionally find evidence of the terrifyingly large animals that once swam in the deep oceans. The Megalodon is a dream find.

This shark, whose name means “big tooth,” is an extinct species of mackerel shark that lived between 23 and 3.6 million years ago… between the Early Miocene and Pliocene epochs. While these ferocious giants no longer exist, their palm-sized teeth are occasionally seen. The teeth can grow several inches long, terrifying anyone who tries to go deeper into the water.

Calvert Beach in Maryland is a well-known location for hunting such incredible “Jaws”-like fossils. Molly Sampson, 9, made the find of a lifetime while wading in the waters of the Chesapeake Bay on Christmas Day, 2022.

The young girl “was out searching for fossils on Christmas morning when what to her wondering eyes appeared but a huge Megalodon tooth!” according to the Calvert Marine Museum.

The girl’s mother, Alicia Sampson, told USA TODAY about the fossil. When asked about her daughter’s mood that morning, she said, “She was beyond ecstatic… It was something she had hoped to find. She’s been looking for shark teeth since she was a child, crawling along the beach.” Molly had even requested “waders for shark-tooth hunting as a Christmas present” that year. The Sampson family went down to look for shark teeth once the waterproof gear arrived.

Molly reached down with both hands once she found the elusive tooth. She stated to reporters, “I was taken aback… I thought I had a dream. I didn’t believe it was real.”

Rather than keeping her inspiring find to herself, the young girl took it to her local museum to be examined. “They were ecstatic,” she later recalled.

The Calvert Marine Museum’s paleontology curator, Stephen Godfrey, later told USA TODAY, “Megalodon teeth have been discovered regularly along the Calvert Cliffs. However, one of that size is extremely rare.” It was estimated to be 15 million years old.

“We love seeing and hearing about the treasures you find along the shore,” the museum wrote on Facebook. They also mentioned their “First Fossil Friday” program, which assists fossil hunters like Molly with identification. We wish Molly and everyone else many more enjoyable beach days.

Have you gone shark tooth hunting before? Please let us know, and please forward this article to any fossil-hunting friends and family!

Share on Facebook