rads
spending too much on rocks
Making clay each day!
Member since April 2018
Posts: 319
|
Post by rads on Feb 3, 2020 10:53:57 GMT -5
Over the summer; I worked for slabs and rough on a landscaping project. Most was collected in the 1940's and 1950's, the ending total weight was just over 300 lbs for the job. When the job was done and I started going through everything.......I found a box marked "Germany" with slabs in it. Although, they had kept a great diary where they collected, what and where........ these are not listed in the "book". This is a link to what I think they are; fineartamerica.com/featured/1-brecciated-agate-stone-natural-history-museum-londonscience-photo-library.html Many of the slabs are book matched and there is a total of 80 lbs of slabs and rough. I took this picture earlier in the year (It's not so nice outside here now).  What do you think? Are they German brecciated agate (Crystalline silica)? Thanks for looking and any thoughts you may have on them. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2020 12:36:19 GMT -5
That is very interesting material. In addition to the banding, color, and brecciation, you might also note the fine sagenite inclusions in some areas. There is also another website here with photos of German agates. |
|
|
|
Post by MsAli on Feb 3, 2020 14:19:51 GMT -5
That is beautiful
Cannot wait to see what else is in there
|
|
|
|
Post by fernwood on Feb 3, 2020 14:41:41 GMT -5
Pay was better than cash!
Yes, looking forward to seeing some more.
|
|
rads
spending too much on rocks
Making clay each day!
Member since April 2018
Posts: 319
|
Post by rads on Feb 3, 2020 18:59:48 GMT -5
|
|
rads
spending too much on rocks
Making clay each day!
Member since April 2018
Posts: 319
|
Post by rads on Feb 3, 2020 19:01:47 GMT -5
And more agate   |
|
rads
spending too much on rocks
Making clay each day!
Member since April 2018
Posts: 319
|
Post by rads on Feb 3, 2020 19:02:41 GMT -5
Cabbed a broken piece of the agate  |
|
|
|
Post by fernwood on Feb 4, 2020 4:48:58 GMT -5
Very nice pile of slabs.
|
|
|
|
Post by RocksInNJ on Feb 4, 2020 4:58:04 GMT -5
Very nice jackpot of slabs.
|
|
followthatcab
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2019
Posts: 76
|
Post by followthatcab on Feb 7, 2020 20:48:11 GMT -5
And more agate Judging by these pictures it looks like Schlottwitz agate to me. It's named after a place not too far from Dresden (Germany), where a large vein of this material is located. Schlottwitz agate can be brecciated, like your slabs, and the specimens I've seen most often show both agate (with typical orange/red and white banding) and amethyst. If you search for pictures of "Schlottwitz Achat" on the internet you could compare them to your pieces and see whether they look the same to you. The link you found also looks like brecciated Schlottwitz to me, by the way. Nice find! |
|
rads
spending too much on rocks
Making clay each day!
Member since April 2018
Posts: 319
|
Post by rads on Feb 8, 2020 7:00:26 GMT -5
Thank you for taking a look.
I believe we are correct that it is Schlottwitz agate.
A couple slabs were taken to the MSU Geology/Earth Sciences Department this week for a look by a Professor that our club works with often. I should have a confirmation next week, visually ......they say it is. Fingers crossed.
|
|
followthatcab
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2019
Posts: 76
|
Post by followthatcab on Feb 8, 2020 10:37:28 GMT -5
Great, a real professor is actually looking at it. Do keep us posted! Another material that shares some of the same features (orange/red and white banding, amethyst) is Halsbach agate ("Halsbach Korallenachat"). Its location is also near Dresden, so roughly the same area as Schlottwitz. But somehow your slabs look more like Schlottwitz to me. I'm not a professor though...  |
|
|
|
Post by drocknut on Feb 10, 2020 14:21:53 GMT -5
cool slabs....will work for rocks!
|
|
rads
spending too much on rocks
Making clay each day!
Member since April 2018
Posts: 319
|
Post by rads on Feb 12, 2020 9:38:18 GMT -5
Update, Professor Mike sent me a quick email this morning letting me know that the agate is from the Schlottwitz region of Germany. These were the clinchers on the ID: Amethyst intrusions into cleaved banding, micro-grained quartz intrusions and the overall patterning to the Rock Doctor (he is a club member) makes it as close to confirmed as I can get without lab testing. Here is the "Block"......22 lbs.    And a cab from another broken piece.   |
|
|
|
Post by knave on Feb 12, 2020 9:56:17 GMT -5
What an awesome stone!
|
|
rads
spending too much on rocks
Making clay each day!
Member since April 2018
Posts: 319
|
Post by rads on Feb 12, 2020 10:12:40 GMT -5
cool slabs....will work for rocks! LOL !! I heard that all summer while I did the project. Now is the part where we either write the job off or figure out how to show slabs as payment to the IRS. Maybe send them a percentage of slabs with my check? |
|
followthatcab
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2019
Posts: 76
|
Post by followthatcab on Feb 13, 2020 21:31:52 GMT -5
So it is Schlottwitz after all - very interesting to see how Professor Mike came to this conclusion. Must be a very valued member of your rock club!
And wow, that block is HUGE!!! And it looks quite solid as well. Any plans with it (other than sending it to the IRS)?
|
|
rads
spending too much on rocks
Making clay each day!
Member since April 2018
Posts: 319
|
Post by rads on Feb 14, 2020 9:10:32 GMT -5
No plans as of yet, probably in with other rocks that are extinct, stunning or very rare. Some day, they will be displayed at more than just rock shows and science fairs.
Accounting wise, I wrote off my time and the equipment time for the job, we'll have to eat the cost of the material in order to keep the books correct. In that way, the slabs become my personal property.. rather than owned by a business.
We are very lucky to have two professors of geology in our club. We also have scholarships that are awarded yearly to at least two Michigan State University Earth Sciences (read = Geology) students. Our show and donations from members keeps the scholarships funded, we get really really good speakers for our meetings and someone who can tell us what we found is NOT from space.
Although he gave it a nod as Schlottwitz.....he did say in the email that it's appearance and structure make it "likely" that it originated from one of the mines in the Saxony region of Germany; along with a short history of the mining in that area. It's the kind of wording a politician would use...lol.
|
|
followthatcab
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2019
Posts: 76
|
Post by followthatcab on Feb 15, 2020 19:10:12 GMT -5
Sounds like it's absolutely Schlottwitz then, lol. I'm sort of glad to hear you're not going to immediately cut up that huge block of yours - it looks very impressive as is.
And that's quite the envy-inducing rock club you have there. I'm a member of my local (Dutch) rock club as well, but so far I haven't visited any of the meetings or presentations yet and keep promising myself I will go when I'm less busy - or more motivated. Shame on me... :-)
|
|
|
|
Post by drocknut on Feb 21, 2020 16:25:40 GMT -5
cool slabs....will work for rocks! LOL !! I heard that all summer while I did the project. Now is the part where we either write the job off or figure out how to show slabs as payment to the IRS. Maybe send them a percentage of slabs with my check? LOL, well you could try but I think the IRS prefers cash. |
|
