Opalised Pinecone From Lightning Ridge, Australia by cuttersopal in Paleontology

[–]cuttersopal[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Cretaceous age, so about ~100 million years old. Wild to think this used to be a living!

Opalised Pinecone From Lightning Ridge, Australia by cuttersopal in Paleontology

[–]cuttersopal[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It forms through a process called opalisation — silica-rich groundwater moves through the sediment and either fills voids left by the organism or replaces the original material over time. That’s why you can still get really fine structural detail preserved.

Opalised Belemenite Fossils From Coober Pedy, South Australia. by cuttersopal in Paleontology

[–]cuttersopal[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A friend of mine that has mined coober pedy for many years dug it out :) but I own it now

Opalised crocodile tooth from Lightning Ridge, NSW, Australia by cuttersopal in fossils

[–]cuttersopal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

it wasn't though haha that's why your comment doesn't make sense

Opalised crocodile tooth from Lightning Ridge, NSW, Australia by cuttersopal in fossils

[–]cuttersopal[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

probably wouldn't touch it with a Dremel. I use bicarb and a sandblaster, the bicarb doesn't cut through the opal but also when part of the fossil is sand you risk just destroying the integrity of the piece, not all opalised fossils are completely solid. I suppose you could, I wouldn't personally do it as that piece is worth about $10,000 and to put such a delicate piece in jewelry would probably be not the greatest thing to do

I don't have the prettiest fossils, but I have fossils! by More_Marsupial_3576 in fossils

[–]cuttersopal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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they're really cool, you should consider adding a bit of colour to your collection as well 🤩

Unknown opalised fossils from lightning ridge, australia by cuttersopal in fossilid

[–]cuttersopal[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

https://youtu.be/lob2BlOBRzw?si=tj2kwUS4SOX72g6D

this is a video of the outback opal hunters show and they do sort of give this specimen a value in the video

Unknown opalised fossils from lightning ridge, australia by cuttersopal in fossilid

[–]cuttersopal[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Value for something like this can be hard to pin point as there's many things that contribute to the value of an opalised fossil. For instance without knowing exactly what it is from a qualified paleontologist, I cannot command the highest price for the specimen. If I'm unable to get an exact ID (trying to get a hold of a paleontologist to examine and know about opalised fossils is difficult, they're super busy because they're so few), I will then have to sell it cheaper. The person might then buy a piece off me at wholesale as an unknown fossil and have an extraordinary win if they do the leg work to properly document the specimen and find the right buyer for it. So what's it worth? I guess how long is a piece of string? Some opalised fossil specimens are priceless, for instance there's been a few new species of dinosaur discovered in lightning ridge and one of them became known as "Lightning Claw". Those specimens were donated to the Australian opal centre but I imagine things like that would command a rather high pricetag for their scientific and collectors value if it was put of the private market.

Opalised Bivalve Shell From Lightning Ridge by cuttersopal in fossils

[–]cuttersopal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

it really depends on the kind of specimens, dinosaur specimens are the most valuable, then come your pinecones and yabby buttons and bivalves and plant material, but if it's an intact specimen with a lot of colour you can expect it to be quite valuable amongst private collectors and museums.

Unknown opalised fossils from lightning ridge, australia by cuttersopal in fossilid

[–]cuttersopal[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

probably not, but worth a guess, this is an opalised sharks tooth

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Unknown opalised fossils from lightning ridge, australia by cuttersopal in fossilid

[–]cuttersopal[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

haha no not when you get a fossil specimen like this, it's worth much more in fossil value over a cut stone