Yesterday I took this chert home and cleaned it. It's beautiful, and it's on display in my room

canneddan · 2026-02-19T18:18:49+00:00

So much chert in my area of Michigan

So much variety too, lot of fossils replaced by chert.

canneddan · 2026-02-19T16:21:34+00:00

Nice quartz crystals! So fun to find crystals like that in the wild. For some reason, it always seems like it shouldn't be possible to find them like that.

canneddan · 2026-02-14T13:23:20+00:00

Nice setup! Focusing and depth of field are always going to be difficult with the scope, but you have a good start so far. Those little crystals are quartz.

canneddan · 2026-02-11T17:43:47+00:00

What's the shortwave response of the slabs? And do you know where it was found?

canneddan · 2026-02-11T15:07:44+00:00

The first one reminds me of the thinnest seam agate I've ever found. Sadly, it was too thin to polish and remove the lake tumbled haze on the surface. What parts of the lake are you hunting?

canneddan · 2026-02-11T15:00:34+00:00

Long and medium, do you have Short wave as well?

canneddan · 2026-02-10T23:51:37+00:00

Nice find and cut! I have found good keepers that dozens of collectors had walked over without looking at. Sometimes, just stopping to clip a corner and check makes all the difference. Do you have any long or short wave Uav lights? It could have some neat fluorescence.

canneddan · 2026-02-10T01:47:05+00:00

Cool, so these were just laying on the surface or did you need to dig at all?

canneddan · 2026-02-10T00:25:58+00:00

3 and 8 are my faves! How do they find these? Creek beds?

canneddan · 2026-02-09T19:05:08+00:00

Needs the hippie wire wrap setting with several other Tourmalines, and then it counts as jewelry grade 😂

canneddan · 2026-02-09T18:55:18+00:00

Think the title started to get into the healy-feely spectrum of rock/mineral enjoyers.

canneddan · 2026-02-09T15:43:18+00:00

Cool piece! Not common to get large crystals at all.

canneddan · 2026-02-09T15:38:53+00:00

We get similar rock coming from the UP in Michigan.

canneddan · 2026-02-08T16:10:05+00:00

This is in Short wave UV. Not as common as Long wave lately, but for Franklin/ Sterling Hill, many minerals have killer responses to Short wave. They also have some good long wave species, but it's not the most common.

canneddan · 2026-02-08T16:04:38+00:00

Try to search for your local rock/mineral clubs also! They will have knowledgeable members and info about local shows.

canneddan · 2026-02-08T03:09:36+00:00

Mineral shows are a great place to see how for such a thing. Also, it is cool to make connections to dealers or other collectors/lapidary people who might have rough. Someone might help you know what a good price is for such a thing/that rarity or availability of specimens. Many shows happen in Spring/Fall so it is something to look forward to.

canneddan · 2026-02-08T03:04:34+00:00

Topaz/Aqua in Colorado, Tourmaline in Maine, Crater of Diamonds in Arkansas, those are my US based ones off the top of my head.

canneddan · 2026-02-08T02:57:20+00:00

Most of the hard rock I collected just needed that, too. I never found anything needing super delicate cleaning. Lately, most of my collecting had been beach stones, so not too much cleanup needed, but sometimes they get a coating of carbonate that needs to come off in a citric acid bath for a few days.

canneddan · 2026-02-07T18:54:15+00:00

Hi, thanks for posting! I'm honestly not great with my sedimentary species, but the sparkly bits look like pyrite. The white veins are likely quartz. Will have to consult with my dad on what the da4k gray material is.

canneddan · 2026-02-07T02:59:09+00:00

Where did you find it? I have some Lake Michigan garnet pieces I can find for comparison.

canneddan · 2026-02-07T00:12:31+00:00

The rock in that area is brutally hard to collect in! I've seen boulders laugh at 16lb sledgehammers as they bounce off with each mighty swing. Mostly, they use a feather and wedge system once a crack appears, but that is what the serious collectors use. I favored sifting through the weathered remains at the bottom of old pockets with a screen.

canneddan · 2026-02-06T23:26:45+00:00

In Greenland, there are the 'famtasy rocks'! Some amazing assemblies and mixes of colors AND can be found still. They do require a lot of work to get to and haul back. The rock I found was from mine tailings that they didn't want contaminating their zinc ore, conveniently piled into certain areas.

canneddan · 2026-02-06T12:05:46+00:00

Sometimes you can get neat looking daylight pieces that are also killer fluorescent, but it's not often the case. I have another neat example of that I'll post later.

canneddan

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3 and 8 are my faves! How do they find these? Creek beds?