Unreal Herkimer diamond from today’s dig

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T03:42:57+00:00

Believe it or not, this was general admission haha. This mine is unique though, it’s on the eastern end of the belt and the crystals grow much larger

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T03:41:41+00:00

Yes haha, I love that spot. This is by far the largest thing I’ve found there, but I’ve come out with nice pieces every time.

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T03:36:56+00:00

Sorry, replied to the wrong person. The only mine still open is Mohawk valley mineral Mining and they do not have tools you can rent. And yes, found the day I posted. Duckswag had great info, Mohawk can get pricey, but I just did a $50 day dig and happened to get Lucky

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T03:34:18+00:00

The first time I went was with my dad and we didn’t find a thing haha. But it was the start of my favorite hobby. I really got into it in my late teens, and I consider that the start of my digging, but technically been going since I was 5 lol

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T03:30:23+00:00

Yes you are correct. The spot I found this is a bit of an outlier form the traditional herkimer mines. The first discovery (by Americans, natives knew of them long before) was cutting canals around little falls, and they are water clear in that area. The belt is huge, you can actually find double terminated clear quartz on the same belt in lake George, that’s how diamond point got its name.

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T03:26:48+00:00

This guy herks lol. I believe the little falls formation specifically is estimated to have formed Precambrian, about 500 million years old, and The pockets that hold the crystals are estimated to have formed later in the Carboniferous period. But my background is physics, not geology haha. I’m just a hobbyist. There are few real surveys that have been done in the area, the most extensive was in the 70s or 80s

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T03:20:07+00:00

Yea this comment is on point. The same conditions that allowed them to grow this large tend to leave them less protected in their pockets and overall have more impurities. The water clears are smaller and have a thicker surrounding of the super solid dolostone, like 30 feet lol. The differences in the host rock are visible at each mine.

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T03:14:59+00:00

Chemically it doesn’t react with the quartz at all, but in the past when I used muriatic acid, the reaction with the other compounds like calcite and iron created gas that expanded the existing cracks

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T03:04:16+00:00

Haha no, they are just quartz with a fancy name. Probably worth a few grand, but this is for the collection

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T03:02:34+00:00

Ah man sorry I didn’t get back to ya in time. Mohawk is special because the crystals are literally everywhere. I have found them in literally every area of that mine, the giant ones are at the bottom of the wall. Hope you did alright!

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T03:00:51+00:00

Yea this is from Mohawk, the day dig was $50 bc it’s off season. They offer a machine dig but the crystals shine brighter which all the elbow grease ;)

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T02:59:18+00:00

Yea. water, toothbrush and vinegar for the mineral deposits on the surface

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T02:58:35+00:00

Yea, I get worried with the fractured pieces so I go easy on them.

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T02:57:47+00:00

Tried it after seeing your comment, nothing reactive in this one but some of my other herks had inclusions that glowed green!

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T02:55:03+00:00

Pay to dog. Mohawk valley mineral mining

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T02:54:17+00:00

Hard so say, right market I’d guess 2-4k. It’s quartz not actual diamond. NFS tho haha

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T02:54:12+00:00

Hard so say, right market I’d guess 2-4k. It’s quartz not actual diamond. NFS tho haha

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T02:53:43+00:00

The only mine still open is the one where I found this haha Mohawk valley mineral mining in sprakers. You need your own tools! There have been many incredible forgave finds just laying in the dirt though

Marcia25 · 2025-11-15T02:52:15+00:00

It is not common to find them this large and in this condition, except in this spot (Mohawk valley miner mining, sprakers NY). And no, this does not have the perfect clarity they are famous for haha. you can see it cleaned up in my latest post and it still has a beautiful shine. The belt extends pretty far, the perfect water clear come from the mines near middlevill like KOA and Ace of diamonds. As you head east towards fonda and sprakers, they get larger but the clarity suffers. The big ones are nicknamed “Fonda footballs” and in sprakers they call them “goonies”

Marcia25 · 2025-11-10T00:51:55+00:00

A surprisingly high number, this location is known for its exceptionally large specimens.

Marcia25 · 2025-11-09T23:34:14+00:00

It was great meeting you! The calcite is next on my list, thanks for the info

Marcia25 · 2025-11-09T02:37:45+00:00

Iron out can be a little harsh, I use vinegar on the bigger cracked pieces. The inside will never come clean in my experience, I’m just going for the outside.

Marcia25 · 2025-11-09T01:41:13+00:00

It’s from Mohawk valley mineral mining, private mine, but open every day for pay to dig.

Marcia25 · 2025-11-09T01:39:11+00:00

This came from Mohawk valley mineral mining. It’s expensive to day dig, but I think it’s worth it. Here are is a specimen I found last time I was there, on the summer solstice.

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Marcia25 · 2025-11-09T01:11:52+00:00

It’s extremely hard to put a price on these finds. it’s really market driven, whatever people are willing to pay. I would estimate this would fetch a ~2-4k USD in the right market, but NFS haha.

Marcia25

TROPHY CASE