|
Post by stardiamond on Nov 13, 2019 17:32:00 GMT -5
As part of restocking my cabbing material, I got some bargains on Blue BIggs and Biggs related material from Washingon which I was trying to Id and Wascoite was mentioned. Picked up 3 small slabs of Wascoite for $5 so I thought I'd list some inexpensive cab samplers on Etsy. Whenever I hear Wascoite, I think of Elmer Fudd saying wascally wabbit.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2019 18:58:16 GMT -5
Hmmm. That doesn't look much like the wascoite I've seen. Possible, but I've looked at a lot of it over the years. Might be Biggs from nearer to Wasco than Biggs (or perhaps might be something from Wasco County, the next county west of the Sherman County location of the wascoite deposit) that someone's been selling as wascoite? Wascoite is a layered mix of jasper, common opal and agate. Because of the layers, it can make for great hardstone cameos and intaglio carvings, bull's eye cabs, and occasional pictures. It wasn't dug after 1965 (was discovered during highway construction and paved over within a few days) and looks more like Rim/Bat Cave jasper in that it is distinctly layered. Even when cut on the bias to yield landscapes, they aren't as contorted as your pieces appear to be. Here are some rough pieces that show the alternating opal, agate and jasper layering from top and sides: So, I'm supposing wasco would be Elmer Fudd's way of saying Roscoe
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Nov 13, 2019 19:27:25 GMT -5
It was identified by the ebay seller as Wascoite. Looking at pictures of Wascoite it more closely resembles Biggs and the pattern is finer. I know what Blue Biggs, Biggs and Deschutes look like. The piece from Washington and the pieces identified as Wascoite are part of the Biggs family; aunt, uncle cousin etc.
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Nov 13, 2019 20:21:29 GMT -5
I emailed the seller and this was his response:
I purchase my rough from Richardson's Rock Ranch in Madras OR. The Richardson's have been dealing in rock their entire life and identified it as Wascoite. I thought it was Biggs at first but they corrected me.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2019 22:16:53 GMT -5
I bought from folks who did the original weekend dig. Several local rockshops were in on it, though Richardson's wasn't around for another 10 years after that. Richardson's sometimes buys out old collections, so its possible that they could have acquired some, but I just don't think it looks anything at all like wascoite - more like one or another of the other Biggs Triangle digs. The old rock shops often stored bulk rough in heaps on the ground, and so often those caches suffer from "pile creep" - browsers don't always put things back into the correct pile, or the piles get moved leaving behind some erratic pieces. Sometimes the signs go missing, fade, or get switched, too. Next time I drive down to Richardson's, I'll have a look to see whether they have any wascoite (never noticed any before, but then I wasn't looking for it). Wascoite is very glassy, and although big pieces can be riddled with druzy vugs, it is much higher silica content than most Biggs. Rings like a bell. If you'd like a small chunk to compare, PM me with your shipping address.
|
|
|
Post by stardiamond on Nov 13, 2019 22:31:55 GMT -5
I agree with you assessment. I'll describe it as atypical Biggs. From what I discovered researching the Washington Biggs is that the material is spread out over a large area and probably has a lot of variation in appearance. It is a lot more likely to a part of the Biggs family than something completely different. I looked at a lot of pictures of Wascoite and they looked nothing like what I bought.
|
|
stonemon
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2017
Posts: 1,024
|
Post by stonemon on Nov 13, 2019 23:20:12 GMT -5
My grandfather was one of the folks who were alerted to the original discovery when the 97 highway was being built and I have a hundred pounds or so of the material in mt collection. R2D is dead on with his pictures and description of the stone. Nice to see it get some attention. I will try to find pic's of some finished cabs.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2019 14:23:22 GMT -5
I will try to find pic's of some finished cabs. Would love to see those! Have seen very little of it around, rough or finished, over the past couple of decades. Nice that your grand-dad got in on the alert and took advantage of it - most attention was still on the Biggs discovery at that point. The days when the highway department lets rockhounds know when they dig up something interesting are long gone - probably liability issues there today.
|
|
stonemon
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2017
Posts: 1,024
|
Post by stonemon on Nov 14, 2019 23:33:18 GMT -5
Here is one I cut several years ago.... I will keep looking.
|
|