YooperGal
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2012
Posts: 12
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Post by YooperGal on Jul 30, 2012 22:20:28 GMT -5
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2012 7:32:59 GMT -5
That is some awesome stone. I find a lot of that orange color but none of mine have that beautiful banding like those have. The last one looks like it has some gorgeous orbs also. WOW. Jim
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jul 31, 2012 8:22:48 GMT -5
those are all keepers! Hard to tell the size in those pictures, are they tumble size? maybe throw something like a quarter in the pics just for scale.
From what I have seen most people leave the lake superior agates as specimens when they are over 1.5" maybe just rub some mineral oil on them to bring out the patterns but that's personnel preference. I think the larger tumbled ones are awesome myself even if it decreases the resale value.
Chuck
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Minnesota Daniel
freely admits to licking rocks
A COUPLE LAKERS
Member since August 2011
Posts: 891
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Post by Minnesota Daniel on Jul 31, 2012 17:07:40 GMT -5
It's hard to tell from the pictures, but most of those look more like moss agates than Lakers to me. Lakers don't usually have vugs or soft spots. The last pic with the eyes though looks like it might be a true Lake Superior (fortification) Agate. The others might be Lake Superior Moss Agates though -- Lakers that contain a lot or mostly moss agate, and not much fortification banding. The banding I do see though isn't really typical Laker banding. They are beautiful agates nonetheless.
Our club just held the "Celebration of Agates" show here in the Twin Cities this past weekend, and I saw a lot of both tumbled and window polished Lakers, many that were quite a bit larger than 1.5 inches. Large size Lakers are often not polished, but the quality of the agate has at least as much to do with the decision to polish it or not, as the size does. If those were my agates I'd tumble them.
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rockingthenorth
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2012
Posts: 1,637
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Post by rockingthenorth on Jul 31, 2012 19:41:04 GMT -5
nice ones
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YooperGal
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2012
Posts: 12
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Post by YooperGal on Jul 31, 2012 20:54:02 GMT -5
From your comments, Daniel, I think I have a LOT of fortification agate... very few actual lakers I'm not worried... I like the awesome banding.
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Post by helens on Jul 31, 2012 23:49:03 GMT -5
I think they are very neat looking! I bought some 'lakers'... but these look nothing like what I bought... I posted some pix on another thread of them. They are the first lakers I've actually seen, so beats me what lakers actually look like. Lakers or not, those are AWESOME LOOKING!
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Post by helens on Jul 31, 2012 23:52:14 GMT -5
OH! I forgot that Daniel was in that area!!! I bought 4 little lakers on ebay. Daniel, is this a laker or a iris agate (that's what Don thought it was): Here's the other side of above, pattern wraps around and as you turn the stone it actually changes COLORS (you can see from the above rock the colors differ, well the bands CHANGE COLORS as you roll it around):
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Minnesota Daniel
freely admits to licking rocks
A COUPLE LAKERS
Member since August 2011
Posts: 891
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Post by Minnesota Daniel on Aug 1, 2012 0:53:00 GMT -5
OH! Daniel, is this a laker or a iris agate (that's what Don thought it was): Yes Helen, that is a Laker. As you can see, I use a couple Lakers as my avatar too. An iris agate can be any type of banded agate, but I doubt yours is an iris agate. Iris agates usually are thin slices of agate that display a rainbow of colors (literally) when light is shined through the agate -- from behind. I believe there is such a thing as a reflected iris agate, one that displays a rainbow of colors when light reflects off the front of the stone, but the colors you'd see would be the colors of the rainbow, not just different shades of reds and oranges and browns. What you might have is a shadow agate. The banding in a shadow agate is sort of like window blinds - alternating solid and clear. As you move the agate around, the bands cast shadows on each other, making it sort of look like the colors or bands are moving, or changing brightness or shades of color.
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Aug 1, 2012 8:47:29 GMT -5
if you google "THE OTHER LAKE SUPERIOR AGATES" by John D. Marshall, you'll find a vey interesting online book about, and pictures of them, have fun reading
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Post by rockrookie on Aug 1, 2012 8:57:33 GMT -5
Nice.!!
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Post by helens on Aug 1, 2012 11:41:20 GMT -5
AHA!!! Shadow Agate! That's exactly what it sounds like it is! Thanks Daniel!!!
Lloyd, that's a great pdf, thanks for linking it!
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Minnesota Daniel
freely admits to licking rocks
A COUPLE LAKERS
Member since August 2011
Posts: 891
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Post by Minnesota Daniel on Aug 1, 2012 12:08:49 GMT -5
if you google " THE OTHER LAKE SUPERIOR AGATES" by John D. Marshall, you'll find a vey interesting online book about, and pictures of them, have fun reading The slide presentation John gave at the Celebration of Agates this past weekend would have blown your socks off! Just incredible.
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