Rock identification?

I found this in Michigan while gardening, but I also found tons of geodes, 50 lb quartz crystal slabs, opal, hematite, LOTS of beautiful hunks of glass, all kinds of stones. Evidently the previous owner was a rock hound & his wife tossed everything when he died. But this one I'm really attached to, even tho I'm not quite sure what it is. Dinosaur egg fossil? Whatever it is, it has a lot of power. It's about 5 pounds. Does anyone have any ideas?

Could be Coprolite (fossilised poop)?

Milfoil said:

Could be Coprolite (fossilised poop)?

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Hey, I have 2 chunks of that stuff...really cool. But it's a different color! And shaped different. Bit smaller too. But I suppose it could be, especially with that thingy attached at the top. I should take pics of my coprolite to post...I just love rocks, even poopy ones. And this was the absolute coolest place - every time I stuck a shovel in the dirt to garden I found something really awesome. Then I was obsessed, dug holes everywhere, had poison ivy for months. I found so many really awesome specimens - that's why I have so much Petoskey. (One of which will be in the mail to an unnamed person tomorrow.)

I have a chunk too, not so big, about the size of a tennis ball. Was washed up on the shore and seemed very out of place.

That's so cool that you guys found specimens like that. In the part of Florida where I live, everything is either coral, coral with iron, agatized coral, or from someplace else. However, we have great gem and mineral shows down here.



Did his wife actually toss the specimen collection into the garden? That is really funny!

merissa_88 said:

That's so cool that you guys found specimens like that. In the part of Florida where I live, everything is either coral, coral with iron, agatized coral, or from someplace else. However, we have great gem and mineral shows down here.



Did his wife actually toss the specimen collection into the garden? That is really funny!

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YES! I didn't find out till later, when neighbors told me why I must be finding all this cool stuff. I mean, come on, opal in matrix??? I have all kinds of fossils too. There was a geod the size of a football that I opened with a sledgehammer, only to find the inside hollow with quartz crystals inside! So of course I was everywhere, digging in the woods infested with poison ivy, I didn't care, it was worth it. I brought everything with me when I moved home to Ohio.

You can cut and paste that excellent picture and send it to the head of the archeology at a leading university, and see what he or she thinks. That would be interesting. Also, a phyical geology teacher would be able to help you. They see so much of this stuff I bet they would have a good guess as well as the knowledgeable people here on AT.

You mentioned you're from Akron when you greeted me earlier this week, how far are you willing to travel? Not 5 miles away from Serpent Mound is The House of Phacops. I've always wanted to go there, and recently I have wanted to restart my crystal collection and thought it would be a good place to start. He says they specialize in trilobites (Ohio's state fossil, you know) so if it is a fossil he would know.

Anyway, he also has an e-mail, it probably wouldn't hurt to send him a pic and ask his opinion.

Steph

canid said:

I found this in Michigan while gardening, but I also found tons of geodes, 50 lb quartz crystal slabs, opal, hematite, LOTS of beautiful hunks of glass, all kinds of stones. Evidently the previous owner was a rock hound & his wife tossed everything when he died. But this one I'm really attached to, even tho I'm not quite sure what it is. Dinosaur egg fossil? Whatever it is, it has a lot of power. It's about 5 pounds. Does anyone have any ideas?

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Hmm. where in MI did you find this? I remember seeing a lot of rocks like that near Grand Haven (West MI) when I was growing up, but I can't remember if I ever figured out what they were... I'll dig out some of mine and see if I can recall.

Mmm, petoskey. Somehow I lived in MI and collected stones there for years, and never ended up with a piece of my own! That reminds me, I should ask my aunt (who still lives there) to send me some.

Yep, that looks like fossilized dino poop, especially considering the size.