Post your fossils, minerals and crystals

[Oldhoopster]

A heavily reduced Zirconium Oxide cooled from a melt of approx 2100C.  That was a fun R&D project.  Never could explain why some of the surfaces turned golden (oxynitride maybe)

[expat]

2 new acquisitions today. Not slices, just the rock cleaved in half and polished. 5 inches wide x 4 inches tall and 4 inches deep they have the deepest blue tones in hand

 

 

[Furryfrog02]

Finally got to dig out one of my fossil boxes last night. Here are a few of my favorite pieces. All found in the Nebraska/Kansas/South Dakota area except the handful of shark/skate teeth - Those were found along the Chesapeake Bay.

 

 

[Furryfrog02]

And some more...

 

[expat]

What a great selection my friend. Thanks for sharing

[robinjojo]

Here are a couple of photos from today:

Apache agate, Rancho La Vinata, Ejido El Apache, Chihuahua, Mexico.

5.2cm x 6cm x 4cm; 219.2 grams.

 

Coyamito Agate, Rancho Coyamito Norte, Sierra Del Gallego, Chihuahua, Mexico.

6.2cm x 7.5cm x 6cm; 415.3 grams

 

Edit: Here's one more.

Luna Agate, La Mojina, Terrenates, Chihuahua, Mexico.

8.3cm x 7.5cm x 4.5cm; 414.5 grams

This agate was given the name Luna, not because of the spherical or eye patterns, but rather because the discovery of the deposit coincided with the launch of Sputnik I in 1957.

Edited July 18, 2022 by robinjojo

[expat]

@robinjojo some lovely agate there.

A desert rose and a sand dollar

 

[Spirityoda]

13 hours ago, robinjojo said:

Here are a couple of photos from today:

Apache agate, Rancho La Vinata, Ejido El Apache, Chihuahua, Mexico.

5.2cm x 6cm x 4cm; 219.2 grams.

 

Coyamito Agate, Rancho Coyamito Norte, Sierra Del Gallego, Chihuahua, Mexico.

6.2cm x 7.5cm x 6cm; 415.3 grams

 

Edit: Here's one more.

Luna Agate, La Mojina, Terrenates, Chihuahua, Mexico.

8.3cm x 7.5cm x 4.5cm; 414.5 grams

This agate was given the name Luna, not because of the spherical or eye patterns, but rather because the discovery of the deposit coincided with the launch of Sputnik I in 1957.

Those are very beautiful.  Especially that first 1 wow sweet.

Edited July 19, 2022 by Spirityoda
added more to comment.

[robinjojo]

12 hours ago, Spirityoda said:

Those are very beautiful.  Especially that first 1 wow sweet.

Thanks!  The Apache agate is very rare, one that I've owned since the early 1970's.  The patterns, with folded reds and yellows in translucent blue-gray,  are a hallmark of this type.  This agate has been off the market for many years, so the ones that do appear rarely are from old collections.  Many have been slabbed which I think takes away some of the three dimensional qualities.

Here's another Apache:

Apache agate, Rancho La Vinata, Ejido El Apache, Chihuahua, Mexico.

10.5cm x 5.4cm x 6.3cm; 569.5 grams

This example was mined, probably in 1995, as opposed to the one posted yesterday, which was a surface find from the 1960s, possibly earlier.

 

This is probably the most famous of the Apache agates, the "Hooded Owl" (not mine).

Edited July 19, 2022 by robinjojo

[Spirityoda]

20 hours ago, robinjojo said:

Thanks!  The Apache agate is very rare, one that I've owned since the early 1970's.  The patterns, with folded reds and yellows in translucent blue-gray,  are a hallmark of this type.  This agate has been off the market for many years, so the ones that do appear rarely are from old collections.  Many have been slabbed which I think takes away some of the three dimensional qualities.

Here's another Apache:

Apache agate, Rancho La Vinata, Ejido El Apache, Chihuahua, Mexico.

10.5cm x 5.4cm x 6.3cm; 569.5 grams

This example was mined, probably in 1995, as opposed to the one posted yesterday, which was a surface find from the 1960s, possibly earlier.

 

This is probably the most famous of the Apache agates, the "Hooded Owl" (not mine).

Those will just go higher in value as time goes by.  I saw some prices for the best ones on Ebay and Etsy for banded agates.  Nice ones start at $500.  Superior ones go from $900-1,400,  Some worth every dollar if you can afford it.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Spirityoda

[Spirityoda]

Your....

Probably you could ask whatever and get it.   Never seen one like this 1.  So interesting looking.

[robinjojo]

Hemimorphite with Malachite and Quartz, 79 Mine, Gila County, Arizona.

8cm x 6cm x 4.5cm; 329.6 grams

Edited July 22, 2022 by robinjojo

[Al Kowsky]

Pictured below are a few objects from my collection that use natural minerals & simi-precious gemstones ☺️.

Two views of the same sample of naturally occurring snakeskin agate from Malheur, OR, 5 X 5, 5 X 4 in. Examples this size are very rare & are usually found no larger than 1.5 in.

Two views of a Chinese snuff bottle carved from gem quality moss agate, late 18th - early 19th century, 2 7/8 in. high. The stopper is carved carnelian & has an ivory spoon attached. The bottle has been thinly hollowed to show the translucency of the stone.

Two views of a 19th century Chinese snuff bottle made of glass that imitates agate, about 2.2 in. high. Using snuff was a popular habit introduced to China from western traders. For people who couldn't afford fine gemstone bottles these imitations did the trick 😉.

 

 

Silver pendant from Tibet, late 18th - early 19th century, 58 mm dia., 42.1 gm. The pendant is set with coral, turquoise, & an ivory lotus floret.

 

 

Modern jade pendant carved by a Maori craftsman depicting a Manaia, 3.25 in. long.

 

Modern Chinese carved jade boulder weighing several pounds, depicting to old men in a pavilion playing a game of Go.

 

Chinese carved cinnabar lacquer dish, late 19th - early 20th century, 4.0 in. dia. Cinnabar is a highly toxic mercury sulfide mineral that was highly prized by the Chinese & many other cultures for it's red color. 

 

 

 

 

[expat]

@Al Kowsky lovely looking pieces, thanks for sharing those

[Spirityoda]

They  are all very nice.  My favorite was the Jade pendant.

[Al Kowsky]

2 hours ago, expat said:

@Al Kowsky lovely looking pieces, thanks for sharing those

expat, Thanks ☺️. I've got some crystals I'll share some day when I get my software in order,

[Al Kowsky]

1 hour ago, Spirityoda said:

They  are all very nice.  My favorite was the Jade pendant.

Spirityoda, Thanks ☺️. The Maori have been carving jade for a long time & have a spiritual feeling for the stone similar to the Chinese. The Manaia represents the balance between the sky, the earth, & the sea. They are bird-like creatures that also act as vehicles for the souls of the dead & givers of omens. More often than not they are grotesque in appearance. 

[Spirityoda]

I have a new love for Nephrite Jade from Canada.  That green is so beautiful.

[Spirityoda]

Just bought these off Etsy.

Septarian from Madagascar, 2 (chevron) Amethyst pieces...

I will have a guy on Tik Tok cut and polish these 3 stones.

Edited July 26, 2022 by Spirityoda

[EtTu]

An early Cretaceous period fish whose innards have turned to crystal. Ex-estate of Eldert Bentekoe of Pegasi Numismatics.

Edited July 27, 2022 by EtTu
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[robinjojo]

Here are two turquoise nuggets from Armenia.  The left nugget is 284.4 grams, and it has some associated pyrite.  The right nugget weighs 111.2 grams.

I would call this turquoise mid-grade with good blue/green color and not treated or stabilized with a polymer.  The right nugget has a tad more green.

The top grade is a true sky blue and an almost translucent quality, very expensive and usually sold by the carat.

 

[expat]

About a 50 minute drive from our house is a volcano that last erupted underwater during the Pliocene era. It was part of a fault which stretches from Spain almost to Morocco and emerged from the ancient sea around 6.2 million years ago, moving the shore of the Iberian peninsula 40 KM South. On its slopes are garnets galore which are regularly being washed down from its hollow summit during rains. Sunday we spent an enjoyable couple of hours there, it is open for walking the routes as a public attraction. We regularly spend some time here, @Spaniard should know the area well, it is called Volcán de la Granatilla or Hoyazo de Níjar. We collected a few hundred garnets

 

[robinjojo]

Here's a sedimentary agate from the Midwest.  The formation bearing these agates in St. Louis, Missouri was exposed in the mid 1960s, during an expansion of the local interstate.  Local mineral collectors gathered as many as they could during the construction.  That formation is now under freeways, roads, malls, subdivisions and other urban structures, so these elusive agates have not been accessible for several decades.  All specimens on the market today are from old collections.

This is one of only few types the occurred within a city/urban county that I know of in the United States.  Decades ago some agate was found in a quarry in Prospect Park, New Jersey.  Also, nodules of the "thunderegg" type were found at the Mine Hill quarry in south San Jose, California.  That formation is now covered with subdivisions and expensive homes.

Nice examples are very rare, when they are available on the market.

I was fortunate to acquire this and another example in 1976 from a private collection.  I have a few others as well that I hope to photograph in the future.

The light brown matrix is chert.  These nodules varied greatly, with some have really nice patterns to others that had little pattern or solid calcite.  Fractures, often "healed" (filled with calcite) are also a problem with this variety.  It was customary to round off the matrix during the lapidary process, especially for nice specimens, giving them a rounded appearance.

So, here's a tribute to all the gems and minerals whose locations have gone "extinct" for collecting.

Union Road agate, St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri.

6.5cm x 6.5cm x 3cm; 163.10 grams

[Spirityoda]

I bought 3 more Lake Superior agates off Ebay I will have grinded  and polished...

[Spirityoda]

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