Green Amber?

[KT curious]

I discovered a dark green crystal near a construction site in a neighborhood of Alabaster, Alabama which sits in the southern tip of the Pottsville formation of the Pennsylvanian epoch. At first glance I noticed circular air bubble inclusions and assumed it was just glass. But, upon further inspection with a secondary light source, it appears there’s small material that resembles pollen in other inclusions. There’s striations visible that almost make it look like a green jolly rancher under light. It does not really feel like glass in your hand when held and has a greasy appearance. Anyone familiar with green amber??

[FranzBernhard]

Welcome to TFF from Austria!

Its glass. Try a flame test.

Franz Bernhard

[KT curious]

Googling flame test now 

[Plax]

My first thought was that it was jet until I saw the back lit pics.

[Randyw]

Yes there is green amber out there. Scientists believe it’s caused by the amber being in a marshy environment during fossilization. If it’s amber it will float in a salt water solution. Search the forum and you will find plenty of posts listing how to tell if it’s amber or not.

[Randyw]

Salt test: dissolve 7 teaspoons of salt in a cup of water. Gently place amber into the solution. Amber will float.

this is the easiest and most fool-proof and least destructive test.

then there is the Hot needle test, rubbing test, scratch test,..

[KT curious]

Update: flame test came back negative for amber and am sad now; I assumed if it was glass my fingers would be cut from how I was handling it  thank you everyone for the replies to a noob 

[Randyw]

What did it do when you applied heat? Also in the future I personally don’t like a flame test for amber as it’s too destructive. I prefer either the salt water test (my preferred) or the hot needle test as they aren’t as destructive.

[KT curious]

1 minute ago, Randyw said:

What did it do when you applied heat? Also in the future I personally don’t like a flame test for amber as it’s too destructive. I prefer either the salt water test (my preferred) or the hot needle test as they aren’t as destructive.

i heated the smaller piece 3 separate times in increments of 10 seconds (starting at 10 seconds) with a lighter, no flame persisted once heat source was removed; there was also no smell of resin. I used the sharp end of a compass (drawing tool) to try and penetrate while it was still hot. Small fragments chipped off but there was not enough energy transferred for a phase change in the structure. 

[KT curious]

5 hours ago, Randyw said:

Yes there is green amber out there. Scientists believe it’s caused by the amber being in a marshy environment during fossilization. If it’s amber it will float in a salt water solution. Search the forum and you will find plenty of posts listing how to tell if it’s amber or not.

That’s interesting because this area of Alabama during the Pennsylvania era was a marshland in between mountains, and a large ocean!! 

[Randyw]

Nope. Not amber then. It should have scratched in the scratch test and either burned or given off a resin smell when heated. Sorry. Still cool looking with the light behind it though

[Randyw]

Real pieces of green amber for comparison