Sayre615 Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 I recently found this at my house in New York. I cut the outer part and it shines like metal. The inside seems like an egg shaped foggy glass substance. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigHyatt Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 A concretion around a round quartzite pebble? I see flaws and inclusions in the round center that look like quartz. Info: Craig Hyatt, retired software/electrical engineer Experience: Beginner, fossil hunting less than a year Location: Eagle Pass, TX USA on the border with Mexico, hot dry desert Formation: Escondido, Marine, Upper Cretaceous Materials: Sandstone, Mudstone, Shale, Chert, Chalk Typical: Thalassinoides, Sphenodiscus, Exogyra, Inoceramus Reference: http://txfossils.com/Txfossils.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Welcome to the Forum. Cropped the image to better show the fossil: Looks like a concretion to me, as well. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBrewer Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 I agree, a concretion Welcome to the forum John Map of UK fossil sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 +1 " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayre615 Posted July 27, 2016 Author Share Posted July 27, 2016 Thank you everyone! Sorry, I am obviously new to this, but very curious! It just seemed out of the ordinary to me after just finding something like this in the 20 years I've been here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Welcome to TFF! Can You be a little more specific about the location? How did You cut it? with what tool? I tend to agree with a concretion, but that is a strange center. Tony Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayre615 Posted July 27, 2016 Author Share Posted July 27, 2016 @ynot I discovered it a few miles east of the Minnewaska state park reserve in New York! And I only used a simple pocket knife to test the hardness when I saw that it was appearing metallic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 @ynot I discovered it a few miles east of the Minnewaska state park reserve in New York! And I only used a simple pocket knife to test the hardness when I saw that it was appearing metallic Being able to "cut" it with a pocket knife would indicate a soft mineral, maybe calcite. But that does not fit with "metallic".What type of metal does it look like. Brass, copper, silver and iron all have a different color. Tony Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayre615 Posted July 27, 2016 Author Share Posted July 27, 2016 I am confident that it resembles iron when I cut it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmaier Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 This is very weird. There is a gap between the object in the center and the outer mantle. The center object looks perfectly spherical like a marble. This doesn't look natural to me. I suspect some Homo sapiens had a hand in making this. They are odd and tricky little devils. If the outer coating is soft and can be cut with a pen knife, I suspect pot metal or a lead alloy. Does it feel heavy like metal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 looks like quartzite ball or a marble encrusted with a lime shell "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 I am confident that it resembles iron when I cut it It could be a "rotten" iron pyrite or siderite. I am Just curious about the perfect round center. This is a feture that I am unfamiler with in a concretion. Have You tried to cut iron with a pocket knife (also iron). Not an easy task. Tony PS Lead or other soft metal and man made makes more sense than a concretion for this thing. Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayre615 Posted July 27, 2016 Author Share Posted July 27, 2016 Hmm well the shine compares more of a lead to me but again I have no experience whatsoever haha. And yes with the size that it is, the weight is much more than you would expect for a rock that size Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilcrazy Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 This is going to be out there. Due to the perfect white orb and a close but loose encapsulation; I'm going with an old antiperspirant roll on deodorant that may have survived a fire or low heating event. I don't know, I'm just saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 The more I think about it the more I have to agree with some sort of a man made object. Tony Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmaier Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 There is a metal alloy of tin and other cheap metals often called white metal or pot metal. When freshly exposed it can shine like silver or lead, and then often takes on a white-grey dusty patina as it oxides. Pot metal was used many years ago for pots (thus the cryptic name). It is a light weight metal and cheap. Why would somebody coat a "glassy" marble in a coat of pot metal? That just the kind of weird things those sapiens do. I don't think this is natural. Maybe some odd artifact left over from a pot making factory? Something thrown in a fire? (a marble in a metal pot) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigHyatt Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 I still say the center is a piece of quartzite. I looked closely at it, and the details look like a rock to me. I have definitely seen nearly spherical pebbles like this. Also, we can't see all of it, so no guarantee it's a perfect sphere. I can't explain the gap other than a difference in thermal expansion or perhaps dissolution of a soluble mineral layer. The OP didn't sound, to me at least, like he cut it with a knife. I thought he said he scratched it. Maybe he cut it with a Dremel. Info: Craig Hyatt, retired software/electrical engineer Experience: Beginner, fossil hunting less than a year Location: Eagle Pass, TX USA on the border with Mexico, hot dry desert Formation: Escondido, Marine, Upper Cretaceous Materials: Sandstone, Mudstone, Shale, Chert, Chalk Typical: Thalassinoides, Sphenodiscus, Exogyra, Inoceramus Reference: http://txfossils.com/Txfossils.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigHyatt Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Hmm well the shine compares more of a lead to me but again I have no experience whatsoever haha. And yes with the size that it is, the weight is much more than you would expect for a rock that size 1. How did you trim the outside off to make the photo you posted? Did you use a power tool? 2. Have you tested whether any part of the object is magnetic? 3. Can you remove the center object? You mention it's "egg shaped". It is elliptical or is it a perfect sphere? Info: Craig Hyatt, retired software/electrical engineer Experience: Beginner, fossil hunting less than a year Location: Eagle Pass, TX USA on the border with Mexico, hot dry desert Formation: Escondido, Marine, Upper Cretaceous Materials: Sandstone, Mudstone, Shale, Chert, Chalk Typical: Thalassinoides, Sphenodiscus, Exogyra, Inoceramus Reference: http://txfossils.com/Txfossils.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Just had a thought-- in the 1800's they sometimes used 1/2 round glass or porcelain marbles as bottle stoppers. These were held on the bottle with a thick lead foil. Can We see some pictures from different angles? Tony Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBrewer Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Musket ball? John Map of UK fossil sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayre615 Posted July 28, 2016 Author Share Posted July 28, 2016 Here's a photo of the top view and one with tiny slits I created with a knife. The way it looks otherwise is the way I found it. The top half of the outer part was already gone when I discovered it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayre615 Posted July 28, 2016 Author Share Posted July 28, 2016 And here are more angles for you all! Thanks again for all the help so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPS Ammonite Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Let's find out what the sphere is. Does a steel knife blade scratch it? Is the metal cover really soft like lead or a harder iron alloy? My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned. See my Arizona Paleontology Guide link The best single resource for Arizona paleontology anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigHyatt Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Here's a photo of the top view and one with tiny slits I created with a knife. The way it looks otherwise is the way I found it. The top half of the outer part was already gone when I discovered it!That view looks a heck of a lot like a bullet that's been fired. They are all over one of my sites. The shape and color are a good match. So maybe "musket ball" is right. ;-)Are there any modern rounds with glass balls in them? After seeing the uniform wall thickness, grooves or gouges in the top and the color, now I am swinging toward the man made camp. Pretty crucial to find out if it's magnetic. I have this weird feeling... like deja vu.... that I've seen this before and should know what it is. Could it be some sort of furniture caster? But who makes ball bearings out of glass? Info: Craig Hyatt, retired software/electrical engineer Experience: Beginner, fossil hunting less than a year Location: Eagle Pass, TX USA on the border with Mexico, hot dry desert Formation: Escondido, Marine, Upper Cretaceous Materials: Sandstone, Mudstone, Shale, Chert, Chalk Typical: Thalassinoides, Sphenodiscus, Exogyra, Inoceramus Reference: http://txfossils.com/Txfossils.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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