maybe new to this website, relatively new to fossils, but definitely not a newbie on earth

[cpagak]

By way of introduction, I am in my 8th decade on this terrestrial, fossil filled, ball.  Retired accountant, numismatist, avid reader, piddler, open minded, you may meet people as non-judgmental as I am but I doubt you'll meet many any less judgmental.

 

I've always had an interest in fossils but one day I found one!  Maybe 5 to 8 years ago.  I have a gravel driveway maybe 100 + a few feet long which I had just had re rocked.  Rolling my garbage cans down to the street and looking down, as is my habit (never know what you'll find, but I didn't really expect to find anything in my driveway), and just as I swung the cans into position my eye noticed an interesting looking rock.  I picked it up and believed I had found my first fossil!  It's the pic in my profile.  I believe it's a trilobite or some such.  I have since found more, but I cannot identify them beyond if they're not a fossil of something then I don't have any idea what they are.  A group of five of the better ones, including the one in my profile, is in this pic.

 

I found a fossil yesterday, even, as well as a hagstone.  I have learned a rock with a naturally occurring hole in it is a hagstone, and the finder of such is brought good luck.  But only the finder.  If I give it to someone else it does not work.  However, if I return it to nature and someone finds it without my telling them anything, it apparently works again.  I don't know if it's true but I have been mightily blessed the last few years since finding my first one.  Of course, I had been mighily blessed prior to that.  But who knows if it would have continued but for these hagstones.

 

While looking through them, I have maybe 40, I noticed one has TWO holes.  That ought to be worth something!

 

My purpose is to make like minded friends and share pics.  Maybe learn something.

[ted coulianos]

Welcome to the Fossil Forum.  The top four stones show fragments of crinoid stems; the bottom middle one definitely looks like a trilobite pygidium (tail section),  As for i.d.'s,   without any locality data or other provenance that's about all you can say,  Keep looking, keep your hagstone handy, and again, welcome to the forum!   Warmest regards!

[Brian James Maguire]

Warm welcome from Ireland

[Fin Lover]

Welcome to the forum!

[Lone Hunter]

Welcome from Texas!    Your gravel is more interesting than our gravel!

[Fossildude19]

Welcome to the Forum. 

 

[cpagak]

thanks for the warm welcomes!  and so timely!  and the identification of three of them!

 

as to location, the gravel comes from a limestone quarry not many miles from here.  where the limestone originally came from and when - I guess that's a big question.

 

at least I think it's a mostly limestone quarry.  somebody told me that.

 

My chest swelled with pride over the comment of having such interesting gravel!  But then I recalled "pride goeth before a fall" and repented.

[trilobites_are_awesome]

Welcome to the forum from Michigan!

[cpagak]

I won't overload with pics, but do have three more.  right now my "collection" (such as it is) is housed in three wooden cigar boxes bought at a flea market because I like boxes and figured I'd find a use for them.  This hobby provided that.  They're labeled "hagstones," "cooler rocks and fossils," and "less cool rocks and fossils."  These pics and the ones previously posted are located in the "cooler rocks and fossils" box.

 

The rock with a rock in it was found years ago, well prior to this current load of gravel.  The smaller rock is loosely encased by the larger rock.  It will rattle around in it.

 

fossils 820 pics are reasonably good, I think.  the fossil in the middle top reminds me of pac man.

 

fossils 819 pic not so good, especially the lowest one.  That elongated reddish thing goes all the way through it and is very shiny.

 

these are all what I would call average driveway gravel size, maybe a little bigger.

 

 

Edited February 20 by cpagak
add relative siz info

[Jaybot]

Welcome to the forum, coming from a fellow numismatist!

[SawTooth]

Welcome!

[Darktooth]

Hello, and welcome to the forum from New York!

[piranha]

Here is an excellent paper describing numerous fossils from the gravel deposits of Mississippi:

 

 

Dockery, D.T., Starnes, J.E., Thompson, D.E., Beiser, L. 2008

Rocks and Fossils Found in Mississippi's Gravel Deposits.

Mississippi Geological Survey, Circular, 7:1-25  PDF LINK

[Gizmo]

Welcome aboard! 

[Mark Kmiecik]

Welcome from Illinois.

[cpagak]

thanks for all the warm welcomes and especially the link to the PDF of Mississippi gravel deposits.  gonna print that!