PINE CONES & BARK
I have the largest selection of cones to chose from at shows. A opal pine cone such as this in light yellow opal, dry, full of bright fire, with good cast definition retails for over $2,000. Currently sold out and may never find another. Multicolor lemonish opal with excellent definition to the tiny cone.
Sold both as a pair
Sold both as a pair Considering color, form, and then quality of pattern, on top of the fossil considerations. Rarity of species is important. U.C.Berkeley has been given several fossil cones for species identification. The various mines have produced Picea Wolfei cones which are unique to Virgin Valley Deposits.
We donated some unusual surface finds including a rare healed broken toe bone from some Miocene Denizen to put in the college collection. This valley has been an important resource for Miocene North American flora fossils. The fauna has been studied by expeditions to the mining district with many new mammal species being discovered in the past. Mostly away from the layers that precious opal was formed in.
Cone from Royal Peacock
Small flash of red color on end showing in black eye of a pastel shaded solid opal, Cast is about 4/5 of round and has some cracks. $200 A big jpg is on the bottom of this page.
These are $50 half's, $25 Pieces or less well defined or softer, then pieces start at $5 for encased soft ones glued onto dirt clods.
Redwood, willow, larch, firs, conifers, gooseberries, black locust, sequoias, elms, spruce, hardwoods, and softwoods have all left fossils out here. I'm a miner not a plant ID person. I had one larger hunk of mud with 5 cones studded on it that came from Rainbow Ridge mined by Keith himself, but when it comes to light again it's going back to the Ridges Pine cone collection now.
Precious Opal will fill in any cavity in the montmorillite clays that make up the pay layers in the opal mines. It seems less than 10 percent of the ones possible in the gem pockets that are actually less than 1 1/10 of 1 % in the bank. The bank as a whole makes opals all through it here and there.
Precious opal replacement of wood can range from total replacement to a thin skin, or a rind of precious opal, over a common petrified limb. Over 120 plant species have been found fossilized in the opal beds along with the occasional animal fossils.The pay layers or streaks can vary from less than 1" thick to over 10' thick in some areas.
We have rarely found fossil teeth and bones from the opal beds in the valley. Many of the fossils are not recovered from the opal layer itself, but the over laying sedimentary layers, or more recent overburden. Our paleontology mirrors that documented in the John Day Beds in Oregon and the Rattlesnake formation in Wyoming.
Most vertebrate fossils are what is called dry land scatter, just bits and pieces on the surface, left by the scavengers. Written up and published by Meade they found no complete skeletons, even though they identified numerous teeth from previously un-discovered species. Mostly small rodents, cats, and dogs in transition were the new discoveries.
Gem pine cones are most coveted. Nobody has camels teeth, or 3-toed horse bones from Virgin Valley for sale, let alone at Chinese market prices. Being collected from deeded ground these fossils are completely legal to possess and sell freely.
Water worn and of hard common opal, these 1/3 " diameter cones are $30 per partial cone when available. Black Opal pine cones might be found on any mine, but digging all year doesn't find one every year. I have the largest selection of fossil pine cones for sale from Virgin Valley anywhere. Literally there are no other dealers.
The rarest perfect round Sequoia cones start at $500 each. I am not keeping them for myself and have sold the biggest ones to Rainbow Ridge Mine. I have both open and un-open specimens for sale. Swordfish Mining has provided specimens for many different collections around the world and into numerous educational settings. Fossil Elm twigs are a popular ID.
Opals are the only gemstone made by animals, plants, and inside the earth. Geysers and ground water make opal sinter from silicon. Mosquitoes use opal it in their proboscises as the point. Also a beetle has been discovered in Australia uses actual green opal for it's color. As for plants some species of Bamboo in Vietnam have opal stones in the nodes and the nettle uses the same points the mosquitoes do to make you itch.
Super gem crystallized bark is a special rare treat and commands a premium price for it's outstanding art and design value. The structure of lenses of multicolored opal and fluid wood grain is unmatched in the Gem world. Very little bark is Opalized completely through. Very little bark is even preserved due to it's softness.
Bark Conk This 62 ct precious Opalized bark was pictured in 'Mining Opal in Nevada' in Rock and Gem Magazine. The picture has poor color rendition of the electric running bright color flashes coming out of a fine lace wood structure pattern. This is now priced at $100 ct. It's been treated with a cyro-acrylate fracture sealer and has shown no changes in the play of color or brightness of fire since first polished. It's been displayed since cut in 1996 in our display showcase in the sun at shows without any loss of color or sealer degradation.
Here is the 2008 show frame of opal cones found here.
The top left two cones are $1000 cones, well made the rarest species. The better cones are harder and have more opal content or definition. The sequoia cones in the top row are solid well made common opal, some clay on them still. These aren't so tough you can brush scrub them clean fast. The pine cones usually are soft and not hard Opalized. Until you clean them you don't really know. These are so perfect I did not chance cleaning them yet.
Leaf prints and pine needles are commonly found, but rarely in opal. Most are embedded in mud or poorly fossilized mats of forest floor. 15 million year old leaf mats. I do have fragile willow leaf prints on silts. There is a bog opal which is like an algae mass or mats of reeds and sedges from the old swamps. Some has nice color and cuts well. Some even with precious eyes or bands of color in the material. I can supply a couple tons of weathered bog opal. If you desire samples send an e-mail for a quote or buy the claim for $ 5000.
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