Tom
fully equipped rock polisher
My dad Tom suddenly passed away yesterday, Just wanted his "rock" family to know.
Member since January 2013
Posts: 1,557
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Post by Tom on Sept 25, 2015 21:25:35 GMT -5
Hey everyone, I am pretty sure this is a piece of coral that I found in SD this summer. It may be a sponge but not sure if they actually fossilize? Anyway the really cool part is 1)the awesome blue agate swirls and 2) its hollow. It was sitting on my shelf for a while (for further investigation). I thought I saw a bit of blue so I gave it a good scrubbing and this is what showed up. At first I thought I made the discovery of the century, It looked so much like a heart or lung with the water squirting out the holes. I thought "hey those hole had vessels attached. And I really did not think coral could be hollow. Anyway I came back down to earth and figured it is coral. One thing it sure is purdy. If anyone can shed any light on this I would love to know more. Thanks Tom Water goes in the triangle shaped hole and then... Comes out the rectangle hole and.... These 4 holes.
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Post by Pat on Sept 25, 2015 21:34:05 GMT -5
All I can say is WOW! The closeups really show the beauty --- and I can see several animal faces in it, too.
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Post by jakesrocks on Sept 25, 2015 21:39:02 GMT -5
South Dakota does indeed have fossil coral. I have several pieces, but none as nice as the one you found. With the right conditions while forming, you would have had one of the very rare corals with Fairburn fortifications. Unfortunately conditions weren't right, and you have the prairie agate type of fortifications. Never mind that. It's still a beauty and will make a very nice display piece.
You might want to soak it in Oxalic acid or CLR for a couple days to clean it a bit more. Then soak it in hot baby oil to make the colors really pop.
Millions of years ago much of South Dakota was a shallow sea bed. Many marine fossils are found here.
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Tom
fully equipped rock polisher
My dad Tom suddenly passed away yesterday, Just wanted his "rock" family to know.
Member since January 2013
Posts: 1,557
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Post by Tom on Sept 25, 2015 22:10:10 GMT -5
Thanks Don I will do just that. Dang Fairburn would have been cool but I love this piece. I did find a Fairburn while there, in fact the same area, Indian Creek, not a great Fairburn but still. Thanks again Pat and Don
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Post by jakesrocks on Sept 25, 2015 22:15:45 GMT -5
LOL. My largest piece of S.D. coral is from Indian Creek. Maybe I'll haul it out and do a light grind on it. Mine is close to a ball shape, so I've been saving it to turn a sphere out of it.
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Tom
fully equipped rock polisher
My dad Tom suddenly passed away yesterday, Just wanted his "rock" family to know.
Member since January 2013
Posts: 1,557
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Post by Tom on Sept 25, 2015 22:24:29 GMT -5
A coral sphere will be nice, I found another pretty plane Jane coral there among other nice items. We will be going back to South Dakota next July and I already can't wait . Preparing for another Saskatchewan winter now:(. I absolutely love the entire area and it truly is a rock hounds dream.
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Post by orrum on Sept 26, 2015 5:17:19 GMT -5
Heck call it a Fairburn Prairie type agate! LOL
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Post by Noosh9057 on Sept 26, 2015 6:05:38 GMT -5
Whatever you call it looks nice.
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inyo
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since September 2014
Posts: 85
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Post by inyo on Sept 28, 2015 9:17:09 GMT -5
Not coral, in my opinion. Looks like an agate. A very nice piece of agate, indeed.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,681
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Post by Fossilman on Sept 28, 2015 10:06:25 GMT -5
SCORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by jakesrocks on Sept 28, 2015 10:35:00 GMT -5
Study the 5th pic down. The dark matrix and an area of the bottom left appear to show coral structure. Also the left side of the hole at top of pic.
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Tom
fully equipped rock polisher
My dad Tom suddenly passed away yesterday, Just wanted his "rock" family to know.
Member since January 2013
Posts: 1,557
|
Post by Tom on Sept 28, 2015 18:14:53 GMT -5
Don is correct it is a coral. In hand its much easier to say that than looking at pictures. plus its hollow in a strange way, the walls are less than a 1/4 inch thick. Thanks for all the comments though I do appreciate them. Now to go find the CLR, umm and the coral. sheesh
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Post by jakesrocks on Sept 28, 2015 18:20:22 GMT -5
Be sure to post another pic when you get it all cleaned up. Just for the heck of it, this is what an average piece of coral from Indian Creek looks like.
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inyo
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since September 2014
Posts: 85
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Post by inyo on Sept 28, 2015 19:10:14 GMT -5
Study the 5th pic down. The dark matrix and an area of the bottom left appear to show coral structure. Also the left side of the hole at top of pic.
Nope. No coral structure there, to my eye. If of biological orgin, the specimen would more closely resemble an algal development--not a coelenterate. I'm sticking with the agate identification on this one.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 28, 2015 19:48:54 GMT -5
I like it, whatever it is. The blue color is cool too.
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Post by jakesrocks on Sept 28, 2015 19:52:40 GMT -5
Inyo, one must remember that before the upheaval which formed the Black Hills, the whole area was a shallow, warm sea. Much coral grew in the area. Much of the Black Hills is formed of limestone which is the remains of tiny sea creatures. Sure, agates such as the Fairburns & hills agates formed in pockets in the limestone. If I can find it, I can even show you a Fairburn agate with sea shell fragments in the little remaining limestone matrix. If I can get a friend to join RTH, he can show you pics of coral with Fairburn fortifications in it. There are pics of his coral Fairburn in the 2nd of Roger Clark's Fairburn agate books. If you can get hold of a copy of South Dakota State Gemstone - Fairburn Agate, Take a look at the top of page 117. The collectors name is Don Barr. A personal friend of mine. Also, try looking up corals of the Minnelusa Formation.
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Tom
fully equipped rock polisher
My dad Tom suddenly passed away yesterday, Just wanted his "rock" family to know.
Member since January 2013
Posts: 1,557
|
Post by Tom on Sept 28, 2015 22:30:27 GMT -5
I yo, if you had it in hand you would know it is coral. It absolutely is a fossil of something. My friend here who has been doing this for 35 years says its coral, he also has a piece with blue in it from the black hills. I will get a picture
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Tom
fully equipped rock polisher
My dad Tom suddenly passed away yesterday, Just wanted his "rock" family to know.
Member since January 2013
Posts: 1,557
|
Post by Tom on Sept 29, 2015 21:39:38 GMT -5
Well I soaked it in CLR for several hours and it did not come ant cleaner. Should I soak it longer or? Also if I soak it in warm baby oil will it stay sticky forever? How about Ren waxing it instead?
Thanks. I love this piece
Tom
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Post by jakesrocks on Sept 29, 2015 22:42:52 GMT -5
Let it soak in CLR for at least 24 hrs. Then in clear water for another 24, changing the water every 2 or 3 hours.
I use warm baby oil on my fairburns. I warm the stones in the oven until they're almost too hot to pick up. This drives any water out, and slightly expands the stone. I drop the hot stones in room temp baby oil and let them soak for several hours. I made a small stand for my stones out of wood & window screen. When I take the stones out of the oil, I suspend them over the container of oil in the screen & let them drip off excess oil. Since your piece has holes in it, turn it several times to empty it of trapped oil. Then I wrap the stone in a couple layers of paper towels & let them sit over night. The next morning wipe them with a dry paper towel, then buff them with a soft cloth. A clean old T-shirt works good. Just to be on the safe side, let your rock sit on a folded paper towel for the first few days. this will catch any trapped oil you might have missed.
If your piece does collect any dust, just a quick wipe with a soft cloth should take care of it. It's not a fast process, but it really brings out the colors.
You wouldn't believe the tool kit I've accumulated just for prepping & cleaning rocks, minerals fossils.
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