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Post by 150FromFundy on Jan 16, 2014 18:28:20 GMT -5
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,687
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Post by Fossilman on Jan 16, 2014 18:32:21 GMT -5
Dang,look at that-SUPER COOL!!!!
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,341
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Post by quartz on Jan 16, 2014 23:05:10 GMT -5
Four bits a bug and counting, that's quite a buy.
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Post by pghram on Jan 16, 2014 23:33:54 GMT -5
Outstanding.
Rich
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Post by Rockoonz on Jan 17, 2014 12:15:14 GMT -5
What a treasure.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,179
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Post by jamesp on Jan 17, 2014 13:10:46 GMT -5
The real McCoy there. Great photos. Baltic amber is good stuff. They may mean bugs as big as a quarter!
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Post by mohs on Jan 17, 2014 13:35:02 GMT -5
you scored Fred Flintstones ant farm on a budget excellent!
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bushmanbilly
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2008
Posts: 4,719
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Post by bushmanbilly on Jan 17, 2014 15:12:23 GMT -5
Nice finds. But I hate to burst to bubble. Looking at the color and price its not Amber. Its Copal. Copal is not the fossilized, hardened resin that is known as amber, but rather an immature recent resin. Increasingly, copal is being offered for sale via the online auction services, fossil dealers' websites, gem shows, and shops, misrepresented as "amber." The commercial value of amber is related to its scarcity, age, inclusions of extinct species, and durability. True fossil amber is MORE VALUABLE than copal. Unfortunately, some dealers are more preoccupied with high economic returns, rather than whether or not their resin is fossil or recent. Fortunately, there are tests that can be done to differentiate the two. The most deceptive and malicious dealers will try to impress uninformed prospective buyers as they spout all sorts of seemingly-impressive but irrelevant scientific garbage, ignoring the simple facts and obvious age differences in amber versus copal. These fraudulent dealers will attempt to convince naive and trusting buyers that copal IS amber when this couldn't be further from the truth. A warning to buyers of COPAL WHO THINK THEY ARE GETTING AMBER - unlike true fossil amber, copal will craze deeply on the surface as early as only a few years when the volatiles (turpenes) from the original resin evaporate. www.paleodirect.com/amberversuscopal1.htm
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Post by 150FromFundy on Jan 17, 2014 17:53:40 GMT -5
bushmanbilly - You didn't burst my bubble and I appreciate you pointing me to the website link with the standard tests. It was definitely a learning opportunity.
Here's the tests that I performed...
1) Short Wave UV Response - light blue fluorescence 2) Mohs Hardness - 2 will not scratch - 3 will scratch - H=2.5 3) Acetone - did not soften, or dissolve 4) Hot Needle - produces smoke and turpentine odour 5)
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Post by 150FromFundy on Jan 17, 2014 18:00:54 GMT -5
bushmanbilly - You didn't burst my bubble and I appreciate you pointing me to the website link with the standard tests. It was definitely a learning opportunity.
Here's the tests that I performed...
1) Short Wave UV Response - light blue fluorescence 2) Mohs Hardness - 2 will not scratch - 3 will scratch - H=2.5 3) Acetone - did not soften, or dissolve 4) Hot Needle - produces smoke and turpentine odour 5) Friction - produces enough static to attract paper shards 6) Flotation - floats on 23g of salt in 200 mL of water
If you are familiar with these tests, the only questionable result is the hot need. All other tests indicate amber.
With the hot needle I should not have smelt the turpentine odour. Maybe this test can lead to some false results. Maybe someone has some ideas on this?
Personally, 5 of 6 tests are leading me to believe it actually is amber. My next task is to try to ID some of the creepy crawly bugs. Hopefully, this may remove any doubt. Are there any prehistoric entomologists out there?
Darryl.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,179
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Post by jamesp on Jan 17, 2014 19:47:27 GMT -5
The last two look mosquito ish. The first seven look to be termite family. Eight may be a spider(8 leggers).
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bushmanbilly
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2008
Posts: 4,719
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Post by bushmanbilly on Jan 18, 2014 0:20:50 GMT -5
If it passed 5 of good chance it is. This site should help you out with the id's. Try this. Alcohol test - Put a drop of isopropanol or ethanol on a polished surface and let it evaporate. With copal, the polish is removed and the surface becomes sticky. There is no reaction with amber or the other fake materials. The dead bug in amber club. snakefly.tripod.com/index-2.html
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jollyrockhound
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2013
Posts: 409
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Post by jollyrockhound on Jan 18, 2014 12:17:57 GMT -5
Very cool stuff
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miander
spending too much on rocks
Searching for the shop of my dreams...
Member since November 2013
Posts: 407
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Post by miander on Feb 10, 2014 9:56:18 GMT -5
I have a daughter named Amber and thus have a special interest in this material. The bug finds are so cool - I can't wait to show her, thanks for posting!
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rockingthenorth
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2012
Posts: 1,637
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Post by rockingthenorth on Feb 24, 2014 17:21:36 GMT -5
cool looking bugs
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alan
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 111
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Post by alan on Mar 13, 2014 12:32:34 GMT -5
Amber and Copal have the same composition, only one has lost more of the VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) content. Age is not the best indicator as I have found what a GIA gemologist called copal in Miocene outcrops in West Java. Heat flow history of the area plays a significant role in the loss of VOC. The material passed all of the tests for amber, but because I knew the age of the outcrops, it was called Copal... anyone else see something wrong with the current classification?
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Mar 13, 2014 12:45:36 GMT -5
It's cool stuff regardless of the material.
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