|
Post by rockpickerforever on Apr 2, 2013 10:08:15 GMT -5
Picked these up at a show a couple weekends ago. These were all from one vendor, paid a total of $30 for them! I don't always know what I am buying, I just get fracture-free stuff that is hard and appeals to my eye. All of them. For size reference, the cardboard flat is 21 x 10.5 inches. Some quartz for doublets, stromatolite, agate, jasper(?), loved the "eye" on the one marked $2. I know I've seen it before, but don't remember what it is called... Anybody? More stuff. I like buying the small "one cab wonder" sized pieces. For a quarter, fifty cents, or even a buck or two, how can you go wrong? Two favorites in this batch - A gorgeous Picasso Marble. Looks like a tree and its reflection in water... and a nice piece of Tiffany stone. These two were the most expensive, setting me back a whopping $4 each. A small piece of dino bone (oops, noticed this wasn't in the first pic, so must've bought it previously) And a red one The slabs in the last two pics were given to me by barclay. The ones on the bottom left are root casts, unsure of the others. He bought the rough and then slabbed it. When I first saw this last one, my first thought was coprolite? Anyway, thanks for looking. Jean
|
|
|
Post by deb193redux on Apr 2, 2013 10:25:11 GMT -5
Well 21 slabs for $30, while saving on shipping, and getting to hand pics - that is a good deal. On a par with, or slightly better than some sales here sometimes. IMO, it really depends a lot on the particular slabs, and on the value one places on hand selecting. But this seems a good value no matter how you look at it.
Tiffany and bone are nice items, and I really like the color and pattern in that slab of Picaso.
The last one could be coprolite, but the green seems unusual. I keep thinking I have seen that somewhere before.
That white/gray translucent banded agate would be a good candidate for sugar-acid treatment if you ever feel adventurous.
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
|
Post by Sabre52 on Apr 2, 2013 17:31:23 GMT -5
That last red and greenish one is called "Rosebud Agate" though it's not really an agate, more of a jasper or rhyolite. It comes from a site right on the Oklahoma/New Mexico border on the Roberts Ranch out of Kenton, Oklahoma....Mel
|
|
|
Post by Bikerrandy on Apr 2, 2013 18:31:09 GMT -5
For $30 you did real good!! The Picasso has some amazing patterns. That stuff cabs really easy!!
|
|
|
Post by Pat on Apr 2, 2013 19:21:57 GMT -5
It's fun to pick out a bunch of slabs and pay reasonable prices. Good looking choices! I plan to do the same at our upcoming show in a couple weeks.
|
|
|
Post by beefjello on Apr 2, 2013 19:22:33 GMT -5
Sweet score Jean!! The $2 agate could be Luna from the AZ/NM border. I've cut a few that look like that and the bit of matrix looks familiar. Love the red dino, and the Picasso is just WOW!
|
|
|
Post by helens on Apr 2, 2013 21:16:23 GMT -5
Great deal!!! Love the dino bone reds, and that last one is wild looking!! I don't think that's tiffany stone tho... I have several slabs of both tiffany and amethyst sage, and that's identical to my amethyst sage. I've never seen Tiffany stone with dendrites. It's got black lines and squiggles, but not in such an organized little dendrite pattern like the center. Also, Tiffany stone varies in hardness... if it's Tiffany, that white crust should be almost chalk soft, getting harder towards the middle. Amy sage on the other hand, the white rind is softer than the middle, but still VERY hard (can't break it off with your fingers, you always can with the Tiffany). They also call Tiffany stone 'opalized flourite' or 'ice cream opalite'. If you think about that, opal is 5.5 hardness, fluorite is somewhere around 3-4 hardness (fingernail hardness). Here's a piece of amethyst sage that Roy put in the Newbie box last time, both Roy and Tony could tell you better than I if yours is Tiffany or Amy sage, but I think amy sage (which is MUCH MUCH MUCH better to work than Tiffany)
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
|
Post by Sabre52 on Apr 3, 2013 8:25:16 GMT -5
The purple one looks like Tiffany Stone to me. Dendrites are fairly common in Tiffany and Tiffany is less translucent than ammy sage and as Helen has said, often less hard and more difficult to polish....Mel
|
|
|
Post by rockpickerforever on Apr 3, 2013 9:41:11 GMT -5
Mel, thanks for the ID on the "rosebud agate." Some of the patterns do resemble rosebuds, I can see how it got its name. Agreed, it does have more of a rhyolite feel than agate. I had never heard of it before, and even with a name, can find no information or images online. But at least now I know what it is and where it's from. What I like best about buying from this particular vendor is that his slabs are all dry in bins, so you have a better chance of seeing any cracks. I've bought ones out of bins of water in Quartzsite, only to see they are full of fractures when dry. (Like the piece of Tiffany stone I bought in January at the PowWow- one-fourth the size of this one, for the same price, and full of fractures ) He does have squirt bottles so you can wet it once you've checked out its integrity. And he has you add up all the prices and tell him what you owe him! Daniel and Randy, I think I'm going to have to just face polish the Picasso marble, maybe clean up the edges a little. It's just too pretty to cut into pieces. It's too big for my 8" flat lap, will have to come up with something else... Thanks, Beef, on the luna ID. Think I'm going to have to make a large cab with this one, leaving most of the slab intact to get the whole pattern. Pat, I've found the best places to buy nice slabs for good prices are the small club shows. And like Daniel said, hand picking them beats buying them after only seeing pics. And no shipping charge, to boot! There's another show at this same location (Vista Steam Engine Museum) coming up next weekend (April 12-14, 2013). This is a three-day tailgate show for the Vista Club. This is always a good show. It's an hour drive to the north of us, so will probably arrange to carpool again. Helen, I knew this was Tiffany stone when I saw it, and he confirmed it. It and the Picasso Marble were the last two of their kind that he had, and I felt fortunate to get them. And at such a sweet price! Thanks, all. Jean
|
|
Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,685
|
Post by Fossilman on Apr 3, 2013 10:42:48 GMT -5
Nice haul..I like the dino bone..........Rock show coming up here in a couple weeks,I'm ready to buy something....
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
|
Post by Sabre52 on Apr 3, 2013 20:00:08 GMT -5
Jean, Rosebud agate doesn't show up much anymore except from old collections. In the Agate Lexicon of the University of Nebraska School of Natural Resources, it's number is 2433. If you Google rose agate + Oklahoma, you'll get several references too. Rose Agate is the newer name for the material some folks use but is confusing because there is another Rose agate from California and the California material is actually an agate...Mel
|
|