Heavy lump of....

[RussM]

Hello all,
Dug this tonight at a ball field full of clad... weighs 10.4 oz. First glance I thought it was a big lump of lead. Part of it is greenish, resembling what copper would do underground. The smooth other mineral isn't lead, but I don't know what else it could be. This thing is very cool, whether it's something that originated in nature or someone's firepit. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for looking....

Russ



And the back of this thing... looks like a lot of copper to me.

 

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[Back-of-the-boat]

It looks like melted copper but I agree it is very cool looking. I think it would become a show piece for me. How far into the ground was it? If it was deep maybe it originated somewhere else if it came in as fill dirt.

 

[RussM]

Thanks for the reply, it was about 8” down with an 87 on the deus at 14.4 khz. It would sit on a desk very nicely...
Maybe some ultrasonic baths to clear away more collected dirt...

 

[invent4hir]

Wow that is a show piece for sure As to its origin, not sure. If another TNetter doesn't answer, then I'd do 3 things: 1) post on the Rocks/Gems sub-forum at http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/rocks-gems/; 2) show/send the pictures to a geologist; 3) find out what was there before the ball field. Look at some old aerial photos/maps and ask some old-timers.

 

[Dougie Webb]

That's cool! If I were you...I'd bust it into two pieces and find out the specific gravity of each side. That might go a long way in helping to narrow it down.

 

[RussM]

Thanks all, I appreciate the feedback. The smooth silvery metal is very hard and came out of the ground like that.

I now am hearing stories of a foundry in the area (1/2 mile or so) that may be the contributing factor we needed. Stories suggest it burned to the ground in the mid to late 1800’s... maybe this is part of the remnants.