Ortegad999 Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 (edited) Hello everyone! I have turned to all of my personal contacts and university professors and am unable to identify the rocks a wonderful lady gave to me and my children. She's collected rocks for more than 70 years and cut and polished stones for the jewelry she made. She said she didn't know what type of "rocks" she had given us were. I have several boxes of what to me are very different than anything I have ever seen. I don't want to destroy anything by accident. She told me that she used to take her finds to be looked at about 40 years ago but stopped after she brought in something that she had cut up already. Apparently it was a dinosaur tooth and the lapidary shop gave her a lot of grief, she never went back. I'm having difficulty uploading pictures so I'll start with the one I find most interesting. It weighs 27lbs and seems to have some type of metal inside. Thank you for taking the time to look. David Edited October 17, 2018 by Ortegad999 Additional photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ortegad999 Posted October 17, 2018 Author Share Posted October 17, 2018 (edited) Hello everyone! I have turned to all of my personal contacts and university professors and am unable to identify the rocks a wonderful lady gave to me and my children. She's collected rocks for more than 70 years and cut and polished stones for the jewelry she made. She said she didn't know what type of "rocks" she had given us were. I have several boxes of what to me are very different than anything I have ever seen. I don't want to destroy anything by accident. She told me that she used to take her finds to be looked at about 40 years ago but stopped after she brought in something that she had cut up already. Apparently it was a dinosaur tooth and the lapidary shop gave her a lot of grief, she never went back. She was apparently born in Montana but has traveled all over the states. Quite a few seem to be fossilized eggs that are were squashed somehow during fossilization. All seem to have a shimmer like calcite or quartz. I'm having difficulty uploading pictures. Thank you for taking the time to look. David Edited October 17, 2018 by Ortegad999 Adding photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 Welcome to TFF! The first 2 pictures show an iron concretion, not a fossil. The rest are metamorphic and igneous rocks that have been stream tumbled. Look up granite and gabbro. 2 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...
Macrophyseter Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 I second ynot. 1 If you're a fossil nut from Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, or Torrance, feel free to shoot me a PM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Salande Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 Nice collection. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 29 minutes ago, Macrophyseter said: , just a bunch of rocks A bunch of rocks that tell a very interesting slice of the history of the earth. 2 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...
Macrophyseter Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 32 minutes ago, ynot said: A bunch of rocks that tell a very interesting slice of the history of the earth. Indeed. If you're a fossil nut from Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, or Torrance, feel free to shoot me a PM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 nice collection of river rocks, and a concretion "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...
RJB Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 Dont mean to be a stick in the mud, but just a bunch of rocks to me too. Sorry. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 Although not fossils, truly a very kind and potentially educational gift to you and your children. 2 ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 15 minutes ago, RJB said: just a bunch of rocks to me I have heard people say the same thing about fossils. 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...
RJB Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 Just now, ynot said: I have heard people say the same thing about fossils You are 100% correct. I could show my dad a super duper prepped out triple AAA-Grade fossils and it was just a rock to my dad. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 "just a bunch of rocks" "nice collection of river rocks" "Although not fossils, truly a very kind and potentially educational gift to you and your children." These are three of the responses to this thread. They all have the same ID of the specimens, but two are positive comments and one is decidedly not. If you were a first-time visitor to the Fossil Forum, which of the comments might encourage you to stick around and learn about fossils? Please think not only about what you say, but how you choose to say it. Don 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ortegad999 Posted October 17, 2018 Author Share Posted October 17, 2018 Thank you for looking, it's been so much fun trying to figure out what kind of rocks we have. I can't tell you how many people me and the kiddos have talked with the last few months. It's introduced us to so many new and interesting friends. I have a lot to learn but the exciting part is I'm able to take my kiddos along with me on this adventure. We are all hooked and will searching for some real fossils as time allows. Her collection is extensive to say the least and I have no idea where to find out more information about the things she's found. For example this one, its slightly magnetic, suprisingly heavy at 424g and definitely not igneous rock. Thank you, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 4 minutes ago, Ortegad999 said: For example this one, its slightly magnetic, suprisingly heavy at 424g and definitely not igneous rock This could be "clinker" slag from an industrial furnace or smelter. Could be something else. Whatever it is, it is a pretty cool mystery that deserves to be solved. "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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 8 minutes ago, Ortegad999 said: For example this one, its slightly magnetic, suprisingly heavy at 424g and definitely not igneous rock. There are only a few minerals that are magnetic. Magnetite is the most likely, but could be hematite as well. Both are iron oxides. Do a streak test, it will help with an id. 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...
Ortegad999 Posted October 17, 2018 Author Share Posted October 17, 2018 thank you! We've been having a blast, you all should see my kids running around picking up every rock they find exciting. I did a streak test but it looks like graphite from a pencil. I took a file to a corner but I was too nervous to take much off. We have 5 more similar. She's a interesting woman she's shown us things like her petrified ostrich egg to her desert glass to the geodes she's found, cut and polished, pieces of petrifiedwood, palm in particular. I'm hooked on the mystery but at the end of my rope looking for help. You all have been awesome thanks 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 2 hours ago, Ortegad999 said: looks like graphite from a pencil. Then it is most likely magnetite. 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...
Joe Salande Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 It's awesome that you have your kids involved. It's so nice to get our kids interested in something beside TV and video games. And many people have rock and mineral collections and not interested in fossils. So they have two hobbies built into one! Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captcrunch227 Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 So excited to hear your kids have gotten into it. Even if there's no "amazing" finds (which I'd debate as mother nature creates some of the most beautiful things) getting your kids interested in science is priceless. As Joe said above, in a world full of distractions and screens, kids being excited about natural science and being outside is the real gift here. I'm experiencing the same thing with my kids still Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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