Amber found in the mazon creek

[Joe Hoo?]

amber found in mazon creek illinois some rare red specimens included

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Oh wow..those are beautiful

[marinedad]

that is amazing, what a find. do you fossil hunt often? i belong to one of the area strip pit clubs, let me know if you want to go sometime.

[Joe Hoo?]

Thanx for the comment i have not found any insects or animals yet lol but i have found some very interesting inclusions. i have one specimen that looks like it had spider legs but in reality it is streaks of blood red of something, i have no clue but it is beautiful to look at, i do not know much about amber and what is it that makes it change its colors because i have on a color scale from a clear yellow to a very deep red, i am told after the red stage comes blue which is rare. i have had these looked at and they have been confirmed as being the real deal.. amber... a battery of tests was performed on them at the local college in Carbondale, Illlinois i am very excited about this find for i was not prospecting for amber had no idea it was even here although Illinois is rich in its history of being nothing but forests and swamplands for thousands of yrs.. i am planning another trip to bring back some more amber, no one knows my location i came upon it by sheer luck.. but it was in the mazon creek area.. HH joe

[kc10bull]

Wow! They have great color, I would love to find just one.

[Joe Hoo?]

Wow! They have great color, I would love to find just one.

pm me and we can work something out

[Joe Hoo?]

Wow! They have great color, I would love to find just one.

HAPPY NEW YEARS! kc10bull............ HH

[Sheldon J]

Very nice color!!!

[Joe Hoo?]

Very nice color!!!

Thank you sheldon for the reply.. yes indeedy the colors are very nice i have a hard time deciding which ones i like the best the honey color is beautiful but the red ones mesmorize me as well..... we have them sitting in the kitchen window and when the sun comes up its a real treat to see them just sparkle... Happy New Years!!! happy hunting....

[aa battery]

is it worth anything to a collector? Ihave some large 1s my brother found.

[Joe Hoo?]

is it worth anything to a collector? Ihave some large 1s my brother found.

i have not tried to sell any of mines except maybe to a friend etc what a collector would pay, i would not know... but i do know that i have seen small pieces that pale in comparison to what i have, and they were wanting a good price for them... i am gonna keep what i have it looks real good in my windows when the sun is a shining lmao..... HH

[aa battery]

is it worth anything to a collector? Ihave some large 1s my brother found.

i have not tried to sell any of mines except maybe to a friend etc what a collector would pay, i would not know... but i do know that i have seen small pieces that pale in comparison to what i have, and they were wanting a good price for them... i am gonna keep what i have it looks real good in my windows when the sun is a shining lmao..... HH

thanks

[jeepjoe79]

wow thats a great find! I went to mazonia fish and wildlife area in october to look for fossils, but didnt find much. I cant wait to return when the weather gets better, did you find it close to the water?

[N.J.THer]

Cool finds.

Sometimes the insects found in amber are very small and hard to see with the naked eye. If you would like an expert's opinion on your finds you should contact Paul Nascimbene with the Museum of Natural History. I have not communicated with him since the beginning of 2009 but I believe he is still with them. If you want his email address just PM me.

NJ

[Joe Hoo?]

Cool finds.

Sometimes the insects found in amber are very small and hard to see with the naked eye. If you would like an expert's opinion on your finds you should contact Paul Nascimbene with the Museum of Natural History. I have not communicated with him since the beginning of 2009 but I believe he is still with them. If you want his email address just PM me.

NJ

I found this guy you mentioned on the web, thanx for the info hh

[N.J.THer]

I found this guy you mentioned on the web, thanx for the info hh

No problem...good luck

NJ

[Cable]

I bought a very similar pc at a garage sale thinking that it was amber . I was told later on that it was or thought to be slag-----------------how do you tell the difference? Sounds simple but so far I have not found anyone that will say for sure what it is---it is always "it looks like glass" lol lol

[Joe Hoo?]

I bought a very similar pc at a garage sale thinking that it was amber . I was told later on that it was or thought to be slag-----------------how do you tell the difference? Sounds simple but so far I have not found anyone that will say for sure what it is---it is always "it looks like glass" lol lol

Cable, you could have something known as copal or it could be the real deal amber... Heres a Link for you... i will post at the bottom of this thread.. I have done tests on what i have to make sure it was not copal and they all passed as being amber and i also have takin them to a archeologist at the college in carbondale illlinois and they have also determined this is the real deal... Copal is not the fossilized, hardened resin that is known as amber, but rather an immature recent resin...Fortunately, there are tests that can be done to differentiate the two

(Test 1) HARDNESS.

Amber has a hardness on the Moh’s scale in the region of 2 - 3. Using appropriate scratch sticks it should be reasonably straightforward to test the sample under question.

(Test 2) HOT NEEDLE.

Heat a needlepoint in a flame until glowing red and then push the point into the sample for testing. With copal, the needle melts the material quicker than amber and omits a light fragrant odor. Amber when tested, does not melt as quickly as the copal and omits sooty fumes.

(Test 3) SOLUBILITY.

Copal will dissolve in acetone. This test can be done by dispensing the acetone from an eyedropper onto a clean surface of the test specimen. Place one drop on the surface of the test piece and allow to evaporate, then place a second drop on the same area. Copal will become tacky while amber will remain unaffected by contact with acetone.

(Test 4) UV

Copal under a short-wave UV light shows hardly any color change. Amber fluoresces a pale shade of blue.

(Test 5) FRICTION

Rub the specimen vigorously on a soft cloth. True amber may omit a faint resinous fragrance but copal may actual begin to soften and the surface become sticky. Amber will also become heavily charged with static electricity and will easily pick up small pieces of loose paper.

(TEST 6) FLOTATION (Specific Gravity)

Mix 23gms of standard table salt with 200ml of lukewarm water. Stir until completely dissolved. Amber should float in such a mixture and some copals together with various plastics will sink. Regular amber often has a specific gravity of 1.05 to 1.10 (where 1 is the same as water). Copal looks similar, but has a lower specific gravity of 1.03 to 1.08. A specific gravity of above 1.0 will cause the object to sink in fresh water.

(TEST 7) INCLUSIONS

Infrequently amber contains Flora or Fauna inclusions. Correctly identifying the trapped Insect or plant should be an excellent indicator of a piece’s authenticity. Most inclusions from ancient amber are of species that are now extinct or significantly changed. Frequently present in Baltic amber are tiny stellate hairs which are release by oak buds during their early growth and some time after,

(TEST 8) KNIFE CUT

With a sharp knife try to shave off a tiny piece of the amber from an unobtrusive section. Real amber fractures and splinters. plastic and polymers actual cut and tiny shaved pieces can be removed without any splintering of the material.



HH http://paleodirect.com/amberversuscopal1.htm