Amber, Quartz?

[BatoonBeast]

Hi! I'm new to scene and have only just begun to expand my knowledge in fossils. Having said that, I'm open to any suggestions, knowledge, education, methods, etc. as to how to figure what this specimen is! Thanks for your time, much appreciated.

 

I found this about a 1/4 mile off the coastline in a seasonal drainage in Northern California. 

 

Ohhh FYI my scale is set in grams

Edited June 26, 2017 by BatoonBeast
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[Arizona Chris]

The specific gravity (density) of quartz is much more than amber.  If it has a nice heft to it, its probably beach worn quartzite or milky quartz.  If its so light it seem that you can float in water, then hey - amber or most likely a glob of yellow plastic that has been wave tumbled.  So measure its density if you can.

[BatoonBeast]

It is almost a pound and half in weight. I will look into those rocks/minerals, definitely not plastic I'm sure of it!

[ynot]

Northern California is not known for amber.

Could be quartz or calcite.

Can You scratch it with a knife? Yes = calcite, no = quartz (most likely)

[Arizona Chris]

Both Calcite and quartz / Quartzite have the same specific gravity of around 2.6, which is very close to what you have here.  Yes great idea - test its hardness.  

[BatoonBeast]

I can scratch the surface of it, but hard to gouge a deep grove into it. I foresee a hardness test in my future!