NeilG Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 I just need help identifying this... My great-grandfather found it while tilling a field in Northeast Alabama in the late '30s or early '40s... What is it worth? This one weighs approximately 10 lbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Welcome to the Forum. Per the Forum Rules and Community Standards: " Please understand that The Fossil Forum cannot appraise the commercial value of a fossil; this is beyond what can be done through pictures on the internet, so please don't ask. " Also, sales talk is not permitted outside of the Member to Member Sales Forum. That said, I think you have a chert nodule or concretion, and not a fossil. More pictures from different angles would help. Regards, 2 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...
fifbrindacier Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Welcome from France. I agree with the ID of @Fossidude19. "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilG Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 Thanks for the welcome! Also, oops... Overlooked that thing about appraisals. Sorry about that! Sure, I can send more pics... They will change your mind I believe. I will also get detail shots of the exposed flesh of whatever kind of plant it is... Pretty sure it was some sort of bulb plant though. It is shaped exactly like a large onion or turnip that was cut off right below ground level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilG Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 Close up of section chipped off by plow blade.... Notice the rings and also the red (maybe purple before?) and dark purple coloration Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilG Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 Another piece chipped by plow... Can't see rings and color as well on this part (looks charred... Maybe my great-grandfather had it by the fireplace or from the field being burnt off?) Though, u can see dark purple showing a little through the charring... What I notice here is how it isn't chipped off like a rock would.. Maybe it was cut way back when it was alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilG Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 Quarter for size reference... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilG Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 Close up of stem... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilG Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 Stem, top view... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilG Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 Angle with stem, 90° break (or as I believe, cut) and the slice with rings/color.... Notice the rectangular puncture. Puncture looks much more typical for organic matter than for rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelius Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 I'm with the guys who think this is just a nodule and not a fossil. I see nothing that indicates a fossil. The photos don't show it terribly well though - ideally we'd have four or five photos showing the whole object from a number of different angles. Edit: The last photo makes me even more certain that this is just a rock. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifbrindacier Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 I still think it's a mineral nodule, but wait a little to have more opinions. "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilG Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 Next few show whole thing from different angles... U.S. bills are 6.14" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilG Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilG Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 Dark circle is the stem, just can't see protrusions from this angle. If you zoom in, you can see color difference. Very thin layer of ight colored skin and flesh is dark purple (like a turnip) with some red (faded purple)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 The concentric rings in some of the pictures are pretty classic indicators of a concretion. They are formed by layers of minerals, forming around a nucleus, usually of some organic material. The different colors are just hues of the different minerals that make up the layers of the concretion. Sorry, but this isn't a fossil. If you still have doubts, take it to a local museum or university, and have a paleobotanist/paleontologist have a look at it. Regards, 5 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...
Kane Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 I think you should abandon the notion this is a turnip. Such material does not fossilize in a way that resembles what it may have looked like in life. Fossilized root vegetables would likely have gone through dessication, and the odds of preservation and fossilization is very unlikely 6 ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilG Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 Bottom (side opposite of stem) view... Can really make out the purple here. Not sure it is a turnip, but looking at it and seeing detail in person, I am about 90% sure it is organic... I'm no expert, but I do have a decent collection of artifacts. It actually looks a lot like a HUGE onion, I said turnip, because of the size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 Not organic. Rock. I see no evidence of fossil here. I do see something geologic that resembles a root vegetable. 3 ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelius Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 I'm afraid there's no reason to think that, based upon your photos. It looks like a fairly standard concretion, or nodule. The surfaces are just normal rock, the shape is as we'd expect a nodule to be. Fossilised vegetables aren't really a thing - you can sometimes find fossilised nuts and fruits, but they are very rare in most parts of the world - and they don't look like this. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilG Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 I'm understanding what you're saying about petrification of vegetables... But like I was saying, now that I've really been thinking on it during this discussion, I am leaning more toward a starchy tuber type plant or maybe some variety of tunicate bulb plant variety... "Tunicate bulbs have dry, membranous outer scales that protect the continuous lamina of inner scales." - Wiki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelius Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 I'm getting a little suspicious that this might be a joke... If it's not a joke, then I would recommend you do some Googling to find other such fossils. I don't think you'll find any. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 My advice then is to locate precedent. do you know how fossilization occurs? 2 ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilG Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 Yes, groundwater containing dissolve minerals, such as this calcium phosphate, iron carbonate, quartz, pyrite, etc fills gaps and pores in tissues and hardens over time... I simply feel that pyritization would be possible with a woody, bulbous plant. I admittedly wasn't thinking very in depth when I said turnip lol... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 Not. A. Fossil. ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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