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Post by rockjunquie on Feb 19, 2020 9:23:22 GMT -5
Here lately, I'm seeing a bunch of Purple Cow on eBay. None of it looks the same and none of it looks like what I have seen in person. Can you guys post any you have or describe what you know to be purple cow. Here is one listing. Doesn't look like it to me, but maybe I'm wrong. www.ebay.com/itm/Purple-Cow-Agate-Slab/164082581385
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Post by taylor on Feb 19, 2020 12:39:03 GMT -5
The Caldera Rock Shop folks had a large display of Purple Cow at Quartzsite this year. I did notice colors similar to your picture. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures--too busy looking!
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Feb 19, 2020 12:50:58 GMT -5
Here's what I know, and believe I know about it... fact checking is welcome please. The 'original' Purple Cow agate was dug from a deep pit at McDermitt - as pictured 3/4 of the way down in this link. That original material was a rainbow of purples and whites and reds and quite distinctive and beautiful. In recent years a local hotel and rock shop in McDermitt published a map of the McDermitt loop and on it was a location that they referred to as Purple Cow Agate I do not know the proximity of this map area to the original pit. Eva and I visited this site a half dozen times and collected the 'purple cow' agate from this location generally as floating and just-sub surface material. I passed out a bunch of rough to members here as slabs and tumble rough and made dozens of cabochons from it. The material we collected was mostly deep grape purple degrading to white - the finest examples contained red inside the transparent purple agate. Recently (2017 to current), a lady named Leanne Kemp Zuccone (and I believe her father) along with (partnership?) others became co-owners of the Gary Green jasper location, and placed a number of claims around the area including the area Eva and I were collecting as purple cow agate. Around the same time she/they opened the Caldera Rock Shop in McDermitt. Worth mentioning is the connection to our member Aaron wcminer , roy , catmandewe - maybe they can help fact check my details. I believe that material coming from the Gary Green location as well as a red version they found has been renamed as Caldera Jasper (correction: the red is Caldera Paint and Gary Green is now being called Caldera Green). The purple cow float location appears to have renamed as "purple cloud agate" which made sense because that material had a lot more white in it than the original purple cow. Now, fast forward to your question and picture. This material looks 100% like what Zuccone is selling as Purple Cow agate and it looks much more like the original than the purple cloud did. I do not know if they opened the original pit or not. Leanne's facebook links. There are many examples of the material you are seeing sold as purple cow agate. www.facebook.com/calderarockshopwww.facebook.com/leanne.zucconeThe other thing worth mentioning is that across the McDermitt caldera loop there are a number of locations where "bog agate" can be collected. Bog agate is a highly diverse material, generally highly pitted and containing colors from purple to red to orange to yellow often in very bright varieties. In my humble opinion the new "old" Zuccone purple cow looks like bog agate that I encountered in various locations including on the adjacent ridge from the map published purple cow location that we enjoyed collecting from for a few years.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Feb 19, 2020 13:12:03 GMT -5
Just for fun here is a collage of many of the cabochons I made from the purple cow agate location as published on the paper map I referred to above. As you can see it is significantly different than what is currently being sold as purple cow agate.
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jasperfanatic
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Post by jasperfanatic on Feb 19, 2020 13:35:03 GMT -5
I think Tommy nailed it. I bought a chunk a few months back, not directly from Leanne but someone I think they work with (at least it seems that way from what I've noticed), and the slabs look pretty similar to what you shared as you can see below. Tommy's collage looks a lot like the purple cloud stuff he mentioned, that I've seen being sold along side the purple cow, but the chunk of purple cow I picked up only produced slabs that look like your example.
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Post by rockjunquie on Feb 19, 2020 14:02:24 GMT -5
Tommy, I was thinking about what I have seen from you and gotten from you and I have seen more like yours. That's what threw me. It doesn't look like that slab I posted.
So, basically, there is an "old" purple cow and a new one from the same area but different location? But, it sounds like 3 varieties. The stuff pictured, the purple cloud and the older more colorful stuff- I guess that is a question.
I have had mostly the purple cloud type, I think.
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Post by joshuamcduffie on Feb 19, 2020 14:06:54 GMT -5
Tommy - how does one acquire a dig site like the Gary Green jasper location? Do you have to know someone, or is there a place that claims/sites like that are advertised?
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Feb 19, 2020 14:33:06 GMT -5
Tommy - how does one acquire a dig site like the Gary Green jasper location? Do you have to know someone, or is there a place that claims/sites like that are advertised? Well I'm no expert on the subject but I know the Gary Green jasper site that has been so popular with rockhounds for many years is different from most collecting locations in that it is on private property. Recently (2017 I think) a group bought the land and is actively mining it - not sure if they are allowing pay to dig operations or not. Outside of that the process of finding a mineral rich section of BLM land and filing a mining claim is something that is open to everyone. If it's something that someone is serious about there is a lot of information available on the process through the internet in general or by contacting BLM I would imagine. For me I'm just a casual rockhound and owning/claiming never seemed like something that would interest me - going to though all the paperwork then protecting the claim from poachers etc. A few years back my wife and I were literally the only people collecting rocks off the ridges known as the Dead Camel Mountains between Fallon NV and Lahontan Lake. I probably coulda/shoulda been more into placing claims but I wasn't. A few years later the guy from rare rocks and gems "discovered" it and touched off a contentious and aggressive display of assholery among a handful of other miners and now the whole area is all claimed up. It's all good, we had our fun there and the only way we could have done more is by bring in heavy equipment - again, no interest.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Feb 19, 2020 14:38:24 GMT -5
Tommy, I was thinking about what I have seen from you and gotten from you and I have seen more like yours. That's what threw me. It doesn't look like that slab I posted. So, basically, there is an "old" purple cow and a new one from the same area but different location? But, it sounds like 3 varieties. The stuff pictured, the purple cloud and the older more colorful stuff- I guess that is a question.
I have had mostly the purple cloud type, I think.
Yes I would agree with your assessment - although variety 1 and 3 could be the same hole, I don't know. As I said above, the original Purple Cow and also the new Purple Cow look very similar to some purplish bog agate that I was finding in close proximity to the float location published on the paper map we followed (now being called Purple Cloud).
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Post by joshuamcduffie on Feb 19, 2020 14:48:43 GMT -5
Tommy - how does one acquire a dig site like the Gary Green jasper location? Do you have to know someone, or is there a place that claims/sites like that are advertised? Well I'm no expert on the subject but I know the Gary Green jasper site that has been so popular with rockhounds for many years is different from most collecting locations in that it is on private property. Recently (2017 I think) a group bought the land and is actively mining it - not sure if they are allowing pay to dig operations or not. Outside of that the process of finding a mineral rich section of BLM land and filing a mining claim is something that is open to everyone. If it's something that someone is serious about there is a lot of information available on the process through the internet in general or by contacting BLM I would imagine. For me I'm just a casual rockhound and owning/claiming never seemed like something that would interest me - going to though all the paperwork then protecting the claim from poachers etc. A few years back my wife and I were literally the only people collecting rocks off the ridges known as the Dead Camel Mountains between Fallon NV and Lahontan Lake. I probably coulda/shoulda been more into placing claims but I wasn't. A few years later the guy from rare rocks and gems "discovered" it and touched off a contentious and aggressive display of assholery among a handful of other miners and now the whole area is all claimed up. It's all good, we had our fun there and the only way we could have done more is by bring in heavy equipment - again, no interest. Thanks for the info, there's a few pay-dig sites around me, it would be neat to own one and provide the access, even if it didn't make much money. I guess it would be a ton of work, though.
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dreamrocks
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Post by dreamrocks on Feb 19, 2020 14:49:46 GMT -5
I am glad this topic came up. I to became confused about what was purple cloud agate and what wasn't some stuff I have seen some was definitely different in many ways in color. I saw some that was like what Tommy had posted but was on auction and sold for way more then I wanted to pay. Then I had bought the golden sage agate from (West coast gems on ebay) after I had bought the golden about a week later surfing eBay the same seller ( West coast gems) is also the mine owner of the purple sage agate who also had purple cloud agate for sale he may be worth checking out. I noticed he does regularly sell on eBay. If by chance I got the eBay sellers name wrong let me know I will check my sales receipt. Who better to get material from then a mine owner. I hope this is helpful.
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Post by Rockoonz on Feb 19, 2020 14:59:17 GMT -5
I believe Leanne is the step daughter of Kap who owned it until he died a few years ago. He had a few claims, Dale of west coast mining bought several of them and assists Leanne as well.
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Post by parfive on Feb 19, 2020 16:23:27 GMT -5
For me I'm just a casual rockhound and owning/claiming never seemed like something that would interest me - going to though all the paperwork then protecting the claim from poachers etc. A few years back my wife and I were literally the only people collecting rocks off the ridges known as the Dead Camel Mountains between Fallon NV and Lahontan Lake. I probably coulda/shoulda been more into placing claims but I wasn't. A few years later the guy from rare rocks and gems "discovered" it and . . . Was there any **gem** material up there back then or would that be a more recent metamorphosis?
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Post by rockjunquie on Feb 19, 2020 16:36:06 GMT -5
What I have seen of what Tommy was picking up it was uber sweet and yes, gemmy.
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Post by roy on Feb 20, 2020 11:54:35 GMT -5
yes your correct the area we were always told was purple cow was infact purple cloud the purple cow comes from higher up the draw which makes cense that it can be found lower in spots do to float being carried down ! here are a few cuts McDermott and specimen by Roy Kessell, on Flickr McDermott and specimen by Roy Kessell, on Flickr McDermott and specimen by Roy Kessell, on Flickr McDermott and specimen by Roy Kessell, on Flickr i would cation you on rough pick out for yourself there are many i had to toss because it was not good i have ordered boxes as there were finished digging from both miners involved both sell from there own stock piles i would say out of at least 100 pounds 60% was tossed to punky this also go's for the caldera jasper as well i did get some good ones but others we wworst than what i brought home years ago just lying on the ground and they dug deep for this material.it also should be noted that i cut alot of my rough for the wow factor due to my slab sales biz custom cutting wont have high yield McDermott and specimen by Roy Kessell, on Flickr McDermott and specimen by Roy Kessell, on Flickr one last purple cow McDermott and specimen by Roy Kessell, on Flickr there you go my two penny review
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Feb 20, 2020 12:50:45 GMT -5
Was there any **gem** material up there back then or would that be a more recent metamorphosis? Once in a while I actually try to figure out the meaning behind your musings but it usually escapes me. We definitely found a lot of great material in the years before the 'discovery' of the Dead Camel mountains - and the amount and quality of said materials definitely get greater every time I tell the story What mass prospecting and deeper digging did to bring new beautiful materials to the rock world is undeniable. Sorry for the side track in your thread rockjunquie
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Feb 20, 2020 12:58:30 GMT -5
yes your correct the area we were always told was purple cow was infact purple cloud the purple cow comes from higher up the draw which makes cense that it can be found lower in spots do to float being carried down ! here are a few cuts i would cation you on rough pick out for yourself there are many i had to toss because it was not good i have ordered boxes as there were finished digging from both miners involved both sell from there own stock piles i would say out of at least 100 pounds 60% was tossed to punky this also go's for the caldera jasper as well i did get some good ones but others we wworst than what i brought home years ago just lying on the ground and they dug deep for this material.it also should be noted that i cut alot of my rough for the wow factor due to my slab sales biz custom cutting wont have high yield Thanks for the post and cool photos Roy! I blame the folks who made the paper map that was being handed out at the Diamond-A for the misdirection on the Purple Cow location. I always suspected that the original site was nearby - we did a lot of prospecting just up and across the draw and even drove to the near the top of the adjacent ridge and found a LOT of purple based bog agate up that way. Like you said though, the quality was low in terms of lapidary grade. I cut some of what we dragged home and it mostly was full of junk or fractured. Same thing with the Gary Green - when we went there on our own - the first time with you and Tony and the group - I found and still have a lot of very killer solid material blue/green from that. It seems like the stuff they are digging from underground is pretty crappy - but that's just my opinion and you know what they say about opinions.
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Post by parfive on Feb 20, 2020 21:05:33 GMT -5
Back when I used to buy a lot of stuff online, Tommy , your claim buddy antagonist was dba Tiger Oak Antiques and it seemed like everything he listed was described as gem. And if Rockman69 had filed the claim, it would all be **Old Stock**
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Post by catmandewe on Feb 22, 2020 13:17:13 GMT -5
Yeah McDermitt used to be one of my favorite places to go play. too bad its all been claimed/bought up.
On a side note I just found out about an old pay dig site that has just came up for sale, maybe we should all go in together and buy it so we can keep it open for rockhounders?? I am not going to post where it is online until we can figure something out on it.
Tony
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julieooly
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Post by julieooly on Feb 26, 2020 18:51:40 GMT -5
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