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Yellow Petrified Wood


jeepinthemud

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One of my friend came to me with this question about 'yellow petrified wood'....

Ill share all the information they have..

"He also said that there's only one place to find it in Texas"

"told me that it's just wood that has turned yellow, but he says it's worth alot."

"Some sites said that crystals in the wood could turn yellow, but this is just petrified wood that is really yellow. "

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"To do is to be." -Socrates

"People are Stupid." -Wizard's First Rule

"Happiness is a warm Jeep." -Auspex

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The color is, of course, due entirely to the composition of whatever mineral replaced the wood.

Having not seen much (any?) petwood of that particular hue, I suppose it could be rare and from a very restricted area. Beauty + rarity = $$$. How well does the stuff cut?

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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"golden palm" is perhaps three times as desirable as "regular" fossil wood. the top piece on your bottom pic is very nice and would look good in my house.

most fossil wood is not hugely valuable. if it is aesthetically pleasing, if it is highly silicified to the point where it will take a polish well, if it has unusual features, then people will want it more.

as for there being "one place" where yellow wood is found, i guess that depends on your definition of yellow and your definition of place. light to golden yellow is not unusual at all. well-agatized blazing orangey yellow is nice and seems, from what i've heard, to be most common around the george west/three rivers area.

bottom line - the wood you have is pretty, and nice to have. particularly the palm.

the color is from an iron oxide.

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How well does the stuff cut?

Im not sure, I suppose I could ask, but I dont think she wants to cut it until she knows what its worth.... I could be wrong, though.

"To do is to be." -Socrates

"People are Stupid." -Wizard's First Rule

"Happiness is a warm Jeep." -Auspex

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the nice concoidal fracture of the mtl tells me that it is well silicified and will take a good polish. the color isn't "that" rare. the golden palm at the top would likely sell for $5/ lb or more. the rest would go for $2/lb or more (IMHO). as tracer said, looks like mtl. from the three rivers, george west (tildon, karnes city) area. very nice solid pieces of good color.

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I've also seen that type of petrified wood further in South Texas. Jeep, knock a chip off one of the "lesser" pieces to see if the color carrys into the stone...she may be surprised. In my experience, I've always found the color inside was very different. :mellow:

The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true.  -  JJ

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Hate to sound like a spoiler, but that wood - while it has nice color - looks Orange to me... :blink:

Be true to the reality you create.

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Hate to sound like a spoiler, but that wood - while it has nice color - looks Orange to me... :blink:

Same, but thats what she called it, and was asking me about...

I have linked her to this page.... maybe she will join our forum. (AHEM.)

"To do is to be." -Socrates

"People are Stupid." -Wizard's First Rule

"Happiness is a warm Jeep." -Auspex

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the nice concoidal fracture of the mtl tells me that it is well silicified and will take a good polish. the color isn't "that" rare. the golden palm at the top would likely sell for $5/ lb or more. the rest would go for $2/lb or more (IMHO). as tracer said, looks like mtl. from the three rivers, george west (tildon, karnes city) area. very nice solid pieces of good color.

I agree Grandpa, most rough petrified wood I've seen is fairly cheap unless it has one of three basic things that make it interesting. Wood grain patterns (Palm wood, wood from Wyoming's Blue Forest), exterior details that make it look like it just fell off a branch and Color (wood from the Petrified Forest area in Arizona with color patterns of Red blue and yellow). Most people will buy Petrified wood if it looks like part of a log or branch (meaning has well preserved exterior and interior details) for display and a very small amount of the generic rough goes to lapidary work to make book ends, jewelery, etc.

Still, what your friend found is very nice and would make some neat lapidary material. the Palm wood piece is very nice and could sell as a specimen. The color and fracture makes me think of a Jasperoid which indicates a very fine grained preservation.

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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It looks nice, especially the piece of palm. Not sure what "a lot" would be. I don't think people would pay much for it. It does look like it would cut and polish well. Like John, I wonder if the color continues inside.

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Looks like you could get some good "grain" if you cab it right... :wub:

Be true to the reality you create.

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i have cut and polished wood from that area, if in fact it came from where i'm thinking it came from. the results have been mixed. yes, it looks like it will polish, but i worked on some that ended up having a small degree of porosity that couldn't be polished out without sealing it with something. and of course you don't know how it will look for sure until you try it. but all in all, it's pretty wood. i would definitely be happy to have collected it and to have it represented in my fossil wood collection. but really, there's a huge amount of fossil wood in texas. i've seen houses, walls, etc. built out of texas fossil wood. some of the unpaved roads in the choke canyon reservoir area have nice wood in them.

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I have dug up 4 pieces of petrified wood (ranging 50 - 80lbs each) in my parents back yard in Lufkin, TX

I also have a few nice chunks of Red Petrified Wood I have got from there also. I didn't know the stuff

was worth so much.

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I have dug up 4 pieces of petrified wood (ranging 50 - 80lbs each) in my parents back yard in Lufkin, TX

I also have a few nice chunks of Red Petrified Wood I have got from there also. I didn't know the stuff

was worth so much.

It just depends on what you have and if somebody is interested. I've heard there was wood in Lufkin, but haven't had the opportunity to hunt there yet.

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I like it a lot I think a few yellow pieces would go nice with my black and redish specimens.

I agree with the above, everything has a price if someone wants it bad enough.

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thanks everyone!

I sent my friend a link, so hopefully she will browse this page, looking at the variety of responses!

"To do is to be." -Socrates

"People are Stupid." -Wizard's First Rule

"Happiness is a warm Jeep." -Auspex

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I have dug up 4 pieces of petrified wood (ranging 50 - 80lbs each) in my parents back yard in Lufkin, TX

I also have a few nice chunks of Red Petrified Wood I have got from there also. I didn't know the stuff

was worth so much.

Oh yeah, got pictures? :)

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