mindkey Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Found this while digging up a flower bed today. Part of it looks sorta like copper, I scratched it with a knife and its a soft material. Then the sides look like a skin texture and the bottom and top look like the inside of a bone. I also found a piece of petrified wood in the same location. Just wondering if anyone knows what it is. Thanks A few more shots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mindkey Posted August 22, 2017 Author Share Posted August 22, 2017 ( This is also pretty heavy, at least 10lbs.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
izak_ Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Where was this collected? (nearest town) I don't think its bone. It hasn't got a bone-ish texture. @ynot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifbrindacier Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Could you tell where did you find it and if you know the layer ? Those are informations indispensables for a good identification. You must give them at each thread. Maybe you've wrote them in the tags, but i can't visualise them. This said, i don't see bone here, but i'm not expert. "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...
ynot Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Welcome to TFF! This is not a fossil. It also is not bone. It looks like it may be calcite (a mineral). Take a small piece and crush it, then put a drop of vinegar on it. If it fizzes it is calcite. If it does not fizz then We will have to look at other options. 1 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...
Ludwigia Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 I lean toward calcite as well. Definitely not bone at any rate. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 ''Tis a mineral of some sort. “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mindkey Posted August 22, 2017 Author Share Posted August 22, 2017 (edited) I found it in a flower bed in Wallace Idaho. It may have not came from there originally. Maybe someone found it and put it there. I'm no expert at fossils or minerals either so I don't have any idea about it. Thanks for the help everyone. I was just hoping I found something cool. I'll try the vinegar thing soon as I get home. Edited August 22, 2017 by mindkey Misspelled word Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 1 minute ago, mindkey said: I found it in a flower bed in Wallace Idaho. It may have not came from there originally. Maybe someone found it and put it there. I'm no expert at fossils or minerals either so I don't have any idea about it. Thanks for the help everyone. I was just hoping I found something cool. I'll try the viniger thing soon as I get home. Let Us know what happens. 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...
mindkey Posted August 23, 2017 Author Share Posted August 23, 2017 Hey guys, so I chipped off a piece of it, crushed it into powder form and added a few drops of vinegar. The vinegar had no reaction it just sorta absurd into the powder. I used regular white vinegar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 1 minute ago, mindkey said: Hey guys, so I chipped off a piece of it, crushed it into powder form and added a few drops of vinegar. The vinegar had no reaction it just sorta absurd into the powder. I used regular white vinegar. It didn't look much like calcite to me, so I'm not surprised. Not sure exactly what it could be, other might though. I'll do some research but I'm sure others will get here before I'm done. “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 Does a steel knife scratch it? Thinking maybe citrine.. “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 13 minutes ago, mindkey said: The vinegar had no reaction i OK it is not calcite. My next thought is a massive mica. When You crushed the pieces did it separate into thin sheets, or did it crumble into a powder? Can You see flat planes on the broken side? (second picture.) Can You peel thin sheets off of these surfaces with a knife or razor blade? 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...
mindkey Posted August 23, 2017 Author Share Posted August 23, 2017 Yes, I used a steel knife to scrape a chunk of it off. It scrapes off really easy. That is the 2-inch layer that is on the inside. The outside is more like a petrified stone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 1 minute ago, mindkey said: Yes, I used a steel knife to scrape a chunk of it off. It scrapes off really easy. That is the 2-inch layer that is on the inside. The outside is more like a petrified stone. That's citrine out, @ynot might be on to something. it looks a little strange for mica though. “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 Bronzite comes to mind with the cleavage pattern, but colors off. “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mindkey Posted August 23, 2017 Author Share Posted August 23, 2017 No when I scrape it, it turns into powder. And its actually a lot redder in color than the picture shows. I was able to rub a few pieces off with my finger. Here is a picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mindkey Posted August 23, 2017 Author Share Posted August 23, 2017 Hey guys is here is a better photo to show the color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 It looks like a massive mica. The colors are from iron staining. A bunch of small crystals all crowded together (with maybe some other minerals in it too.). The flaky nature of the small pieces and the fact You can break it up with Your fingers, really supports a mica. 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...
mindkey Posted August 23, 2017 Author Share Posted August 23, 2017 Thanks for the help guys. Here is a video to help see the texture and color better. https://youtu.be/AuFEvHaqFSA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 My first impression was somewhat wheatered, coarse grained siderite. But coarse-grained mica is also a possilbility. Can the flakes be easily crushed to powder (is the material brittle?) or are they somewhat flexible, can they be bend (then it would be mica)? Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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