A few coins, some junk and a detectable rock?

djm of PA

Hero Member
Jun 11, 2010
834
350
Carsonville, PA
Detector(s) used
MineLab E-Trac and White's Classic 4
Went back to the in-laws yard tonight and found some junk as you can see in the pics. Also found 1976 & 1977 pennies, 1994 Nickel and four quarters, 1973, 1966, 1989 and 1980. All four were within a 24 inch circle! This is the second time I found multiple quarters in a very close proximity to each other on this property, but no silver :(
The rock in the lower right corner has me baffled, it is detectable on my detector and probe, but appears to be nothing more than a rock? What would cause it to show up???
 

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My first thought without seeing the pic was a meteorite!
Can you provide a close-up pic ? Does it appear to be iron ore like
or molten slag ?
 

absolutely they do!! I keep telling myself, the next one will be silver, but it hasnt' been >:(

I"ll take better pics of the rock tomorrow, it is black in color, looks almost like the consistency of coal?!
 

nice day of digging!!!! i always like to see the trash in the pics... means u were hard at it :icon_thumleft: MR TUFF
 

De.Digger said:
My first thought without seeing the pic was a meteorite!
Can you provide a close-up pic ? Does it appear to be iron ore like
or molten slag ?

I don't think its slag, slag is generally more melted.... :icon_scratch: I don't think its coal cause that is more black. :icon_scratch: The iron look makes me think meteorite and the rock structure dose not look like slag. :dontknow: Dose a magnet stick to it? ??? I'd say take that to a collage and have them tell you what it is. :icon_thumleft:

Keep @ it and HH !! ;D :D
 

:thumbsup:

Find a single Staple & see if you can pic the staple up
with it.

According to local History, there were no
Iron Mines, Rail roads, or even coal mines
in the valley. still could be slag from something though
I Guess

as MUD(S.W.A.T) said, it would take an
expert to tell if it's meteorite.
unfortunately I don't know any experts.
 

Please brush the rock with soap and a toothbrush, and post the resulting photos including close-ups.

The rock does not look like slag to me: no droplets or flow markings.
 

here are some of the requested clean pics, still has the appearance of coal and is not metal, but detectable still.......
 

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also, thanks for the positive comments on the trash! I will be making it a point to always take pics of my complete finds and not just single items out to begin. I hung around so long without signing up at T-Net because it seemed like until I found the lost city of Atlantis, I wasn't worthy of posting pics. After a pep talk from my uncle, here I am! Some people seem to post the most rare items all the time and I just have a hard time believing everything they find is gold or silver! I will embrace the "trash" and appreciate your positivity in recognizing the time afield! Happy Hunting
 

I dig alot of junk before finding something good as well......I went to a ball field yesterday determined to find a ring.....any ring. Dug about 50 pulltabs with no such luck. Some day i'll strike gold, haha. Heading back out tonight somewhere.
 

Still can't rule out meteorite for the rock. Meteorites often develop a very shallow coating of black material called a fusion crust, caused by the ablation of air against the rock at high speeds.

Your rock may have this fusion crust. Only metallic-looking area I can see is tiny elevated spots.

Many meteorites are iron with a tiny amount of nickel in them. Because of that, most will attract a magnet strongly. Test with a magnet.

Next step: do a streak test. Streak test usually requires a piece of unglazed tile. In a pinch, usually only the glaze surface of tile is shiny, the other sides are unglazed and rough. Scratch the rock against the rough portion of tile. You should see a streak of color. Post the color and provide a photo of the streak.

Meteorites often have regmaglymphs, which can look either like dimples on a golf ball or thumb print(s) somewhere on the surface. Your stone may have one or more of these.

Other tests to prove whether your stone is a meteorite or not require sending it to a meteoritical laboratory. The tests no longer destroy small meteorites, but they are essential to *proving* whether a meteorite is from Mars, Mercury or the Moon. Meteorites from these planets are EXTREMELY valuable, and sold by the gram, so having your stone tested is a good idea. If interested, I can suggest such a lab.
 

The rock is decomposed iron. It is too vesicular to be a meteorite ! Meteorites are very dense like a trailer hitch ball. I have been collecting and studying meteorites for many years. Cool finds though !!
 

mankind said:
The rock is decomposed iron. It is too vesicular to be a meteorite ! Meteorites are very dense like a trailer hitch ball. I have been collecting and studying meteorites for many years. Cool finds though !!

I Held the rock Last weekend
it is Very light and Reminded me of
coal Slag. (aka, a small black Klinker)
 

You'll get silver soon. If you go out with your uncle you just have to stay out in front of him. If you get behind it's like a desert you wont get a signal for days. He is like a shop vac with his machine. lol Nice finds. Tex
 

mankind said:
The rock is decomposed iron. It is too vesicular to be a meteorite ! Meteorites are very dense like a trailer hitch ball. I have been collecting and studying meteorites for many years. Cool finds though !!
Nice day of digging I see there!~
And thanks for the ID and info Mankind
 

Looked at recent pics and posts again. Probably not a meteorite. I don't think it's iron, either. Which begs the question: why does this set off your detector?

Also curious are the pure black extensions to the right in one of the photos. Looks like layering, which suggests coal to me. Coal should produce a black streak test. Don't know if coal is common in your area, though.

Really need more data on this. Someone suggested it has vessicles. I don't see them, but they might be there. Another person says it is light for its size. Also not a good sign for a meteorite.

But the dark black glassy exterior still makes me wonder: very few Earth rocks have such a shiny, reflective black coating and also can be found with a detector.
 

jeff of pa said:
mankind said:
The rock is decomposed iron. It is too vesicular to be a meteorite ! Meteorites are very dense like a trailer hitch ball. I have been collecting and studying meteorites for many years. Cool finds though !!

I Held the rock Last weekend
it is Very light and Reminded me of
coal Slag. (aka, a small black Klinker)

The clean image is much different, thats coal. :icon_thumleft: I live in a 1859 school house and coal was used for heat. :icon_thumleft: Lots of old sites that used coal for heat will have lots of coal to be found. :headbang: I've seen a lot of the stuff and I can promise you thats coal. :icon_thumleft:

Keep @ it and HH !! ;D :D
 

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