I went to a small ‘dinosaur museum’ last summer in South Bend Indiana. I wasn’t expecting much, but found myself disappointed that all the large displays (except one) were ‘replicas’. I’m not sure why I felt this way, since all fossils are ‘copies’. But ‘replica’ makes it seem fake.
edit: I think this is being misinterpreted. In my mind, all fossils are ‘copies’ of the original. The bone is gone, replaced by stone. But for some reason, calling something a replica doesn’t carry the same…majesty as the original copy. Maybe it’s just the thought that it could have been tampered with when making it out of plastic or fiberglass.
Answer: no
However fossils are relatively scarce, especially those that are in great condition (which means we can learn from them). They slowly decay when exhibited because of environment conditions, so you are very likely to find a majority of replicas.
Now, occasionally you do see the real thing. I remember seeing that famous archeopteryx fossil during a temporary exhibit at the Australian museum and I was completely blown away by the amount of detail it had. Mesmerizing. 10/10 would definitely recommend