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  • Shinny. Very shinny.

    Silver tarnishes, meteors blacken, I don't know what titanium or platinum does, gold is yellow... What other precious metal am I missing? I found this tiny rock with two very tiny and very shinny pieces in it glistening in the sun and my first thought was quartz but It was reflecting too bright to be quartz so I brought it home, cleaned the dirt off and looked at it with a magnifying glass and there are two tiny specs, what I would compare looks and shaped as silver military grade captain bars. I've scrubed the crap out of it to try to get it off if it was just where something metallic stuck the rock here recently and left that like a disc or something and it woulda come off so whatever it is is part of the rock. The thid pic shows a crack or maybe a fossil of something as the eyes being the shinny things. Im going to find me a microscope tomarrow and look at it even closer. Anyone have any idea what it could be? It's not quartz, crystal, glass or anything else transparent.
    پححعظ شاهبيل

  • #2
    Your specimen is just too tiny to give any help at all.

    Properties of platinum is similar to gold and will retain its finish even after being buried over many years in the ground or salt water.

    BTW: Titanium is not a precious metal/element. Value is about the same as nickel.
    We use titanium in the plating industry as a resilient metal (screws, mesh baskets, anodes, connectors) to emit
    an electrical current because it is practically invulnerable to most acids.
    Worst part about titanium is the brittle nature. It does not oxidize as does silver or the nickel/iron of meteorites.

    How about tungsten?
    Now tungsten is one tough metal.
    My wedding ring is tungsten although not a highly valuable material it is the toughest metal known.
    I have worn it for about 15 years now and not a scratch on it and I do an awful lot of rock picking.
    If at any time my ring must be removed it would have to be cut off with cable cutters and with a great deal of effort.
    Even then it would not cut but most likely shatter into multiple pieces.

    Bone2stone (Jess B)
    It is a "Rock" when it's on the ground.
    It is a "Specimen" when picked up and taken home.

    ​Jessy B.
    Circa:1982

    Comment


    • justinberry
      justinberry commented
      Editing a comment
      Thank you Jess. I used my old weapon cleaning brush thats as stout as a wire brush to clean it and try to remove it if trash and it probably didn't even scratch it let alone remove it. Is tungsten found in these parts (North Arkansas)? I definitely want to get a closer look at it.

  • #3
    I don't think so, not naturally occurring anyway....
    one of the largest lead mines in the world is just north of you a hundred miles or so. I know that doesn't help, but that rock could have been carried great distances.
    I found out recently that the Ridge(Crowley' ) is actually a biproduct of the alluvial outflow of the Ohio river washing through and over the Mississippi and building up over tens or thousands of years...so, it could have been hand carried from there by an Indian who found it and wants to take it home. If it came from there, it could be from anywhere north of basically I-40, all the way to wherever glaciers came from.
    Wandering wherever I can, mostly in Eastern Arkansas, always looking down.

    Comment


    • justinberry
      justinberry commented
      Editing a comment
      I always thought that Crowley's Ridge was from the fault untill I studied into it. Dust mounds millions of years ago... Now I know why these gravel roads are so bad lol

  • #4
    Originally posted by Bone2stone View Post
    Your specimen is just too tiny to give any help at all.

    Properties of platinum is similar to gold and will retain its finish even after being buried over many years in the ground or salt water.

    BTW: Titanium is not a precious metal/element. Value is about the same as nickel.
    We use titanium in the plating industry as a resilient metal (screws, mesh baskets, anodes, connectors) to emit
    an electrical current because it is practically invulnerable to most acids.
    Worst part about titanium is the brittle nature. It does not oxidize as does silver or the nickel/iron of meteorites.

    How about tungsten?
    Now tungsten is one tough metal.
    My wedding ring is tungsten although not a highly valuable material it is the toughest metal known.
    I have worn it for about 15 years now and not a scratch on it and I do an awful lot of rock picking.
    If at any time my ring must be removed it would have to be cut off with cable cutters and with a great deal of effort.
    Even then it would not cut but most likely shatter into multiple pieces.

    Bone2stone (Jess B)
    No Justin there are no naturally occurring tungsten deposits in Arkansas that I know of.
    The largest deposit I am aware of is found along the Persian Gulf.
    It is strange to think that although gold is more valuable tungsten is not very commonly found period.
    Rings made of tungsten feel strange almost silky.

    Your stone is a mystery to me.

    Bone2stone
    It is a "Rock" when it's on the ground.
    It is a "Specimen" when picked up and taken home.

    ​Jessy B.
    Circa:1982

    Comment


    • #5
      Quite possibly mica Justin.
      Bruce
      In life there are losers and finders. Which one are you?

      Comment


      • #6
        There's so many choices of what your specimen might be, I doubt you will get an accurate conclusion from photos. It needs to be examined under a scope, and maybe a specific gravity test, or streak test would reveal it's identity. Or, if someone knowledgeable in minerals would see it in hand, they could tell you exactly what you have. It could be any of the above mentioned, but it's to small in a photo to be sure. You should have a rock shop nearby, or a rock and mineral show you can take it to.
        http://www.ravensrelics.com/

        Comment


        • #7
          I looked through a better magnifying glass and found that it is some flying insect impressed/fossilized with it (See photo 3) wings outstretched. At the head is the two ultra shinny pieces, they seem to be right where the antennae would be. Weird...
          پححعظ شاهبيل

          Comment


          • Scorpion68
            Scorpion68 commented
            Editing a comment
            I knew it - I knew it - It's an alien from outer space. And that's why no one can id it. :-)

        • #8
          Originally posted by justinberry View Post
          I looked through a better magnifying glass and found that it is some flying insect impressed/fossilized with it (See photo 3) wings outstretched. At the head is the two ultra shinny pieces, they seem to be right where the antennae would be. Weird...
          That would be highly doubtful.
          The material I am seeing would not support the preservation necessary for an insect to be fossilized, impression or otherwise.
          It is more likely to be a crinoid stem or a branching coral of some sort, given your N Ark. location.
          It is really hard to make out enough detail with the available pictures you have posted.
          Photos outdoors under magnification may tell us more than a verbal description.
          You may use a magnifying mirror and take photo of reflection if a magnifying glass won't do.
          I have found that taking high resolution pics and cropping them using a computer program to be very useful.
          Using a phone is unlikely to give the resolution that you need.

          Jess B.
          It is a "Rock" when it's on the ground.
          It is a "Specimen" when picked up and taken home.

          ​Jessy B.
          Circa:1982

          Comment


          • #9
            At first glance, I thought you had a little piece of rim from some pottery.
            South Dakota

            Comment


            • #10
              I’m interested in learning what this turns out to be as I recently found a cave with similar deposits within the walls.

              Comment


              • #11
                After looking at it again, and again, it looks like a piece of salt glazed pottery rim. From a crock maybe, vintage 1800s.
                http://www.ravensrelics.com/

                Comment


                • #12
                  My head hurts from this thread lol but I want to ask you about some of your points on your site later .

                  Comment


                  • pkfrey
                    pkfrey commented
                    Editing a comment
                    Please feel free to ask away, or send a PM, but if you have questions that I can answer that will add some knowledge for the other members, ask away!!!
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