Cjvs72 Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 This solid heavy gem shell I found in the beach? It's not hollw and a size of a quarter, I can supply more pics if it helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 Not hollow? What do you mean by that? The inside is filled with matrix? The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cjvs72 Posted September 2, 2013 Author Share Posted September 2, 2013 Thanks Rich, yes it's 100% solid with the white mineral. I would love to know more about the if this is rare, age, and why I can't find anyone who ha one on the net. Thank u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Can you take a picture of "the other side", showing the aperture? The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cjvs72 Posted September 2, 2013 Author Share Posted September 2, 2013 Hi Rich, looks like there is no option to post more pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cjvs72 Posted September 2, 2013 Author Share Posted September 2, 2013 Rich here are the pics, as you can see its 100% solid nature made marble material. The outside shell mold has been destroyed probobly a long time ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Looks like a calcite steinkern (mold); lovely! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Almost looks more like a carving? Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Wow, that would be very nice if made by nature. However, I think I agree with Tim. It reminds me of some carved book ends that I have. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cjvs72 Posted September 2, 2013 Author Share Posted September 2, 2013 Thanks for the replies! I should have given you more information on this shell. Yes it's nature made. When I was seven years old I pulled this shell (extracted) from a large soft rock in the beaches in the Philippines 33 years ago. I actually have 2 of these, the other one isn't formed like this though. It's made with the same substance but its hollow. I've looked all over the net for years and only have found one other one by someone who posted it in a shell site. Is this common? How old is it? Anybody seen this before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cjvs72 Posted September 2, 2013 Author Share Posted September 2, 2013 By the way I gave the other to my brother, if you were to see that one you will know its nature made. It is by no means as pretty and smooth like this one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgrilusHunter Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 I've looked all over the net for years and only have found one other one by someone who posted it in a shell site. Is this common? How old is it? Anybody seen this before? Well, a little Google searching came up with one or two possible comparables. Neither are from the Phillipines though. If it's real, it is a very attractive fossil! "They ... savoured the strange warm glow of being much more ignorant than ordinary people, who were only ignorant of ordinary things." -- Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 I see lots of internal shell casts from sites from all over the US. Nothing however that looks like yours. That is why I thought yours was carved. It is a very beautiful specimen. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 three four "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 I agree that it is possible that it is actually a steinkern in some mineral material. However, it has a decidedly "carved" look to me, based on the photograph. The only thing that bothers me is that the carvings of gastropods I've seen from various places in the world are almost always rather larger than this one. Knowing the actual mineral involved would help, as well. If it is amorphous quartz, it is not likely to be natural, nor if it is marble, a metamorphic rock. Rich The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cjvs72 Posted September 2, 2013 Author Share Posted September 2, 2013 Is there a way for me to check what material it is? And what does carved mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 (edited) Carved by a modern human being so as to look like a shell. If you have a local rock and mineral club, someone there might be able to tell you what the mineral is. Rich Edit: I just re-read your Opening Post. If it was found on the beach, it is likely a natural mold. Edited September 2, 2013 by RichW9090 The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 (edited) It looks like a silica replaced gastropod internal mold, my best guess on age would be Pleiocene to Holocene. Maybe some species of "Viviparus sp." Edited September 12, 2013 by Herb "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cjvs72 Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 Thank you, that does seen like the same shell. So from what I gather the shell is used as a cast the the mold is what I have. And the deposits took thousands of years to make? Is this rare? Are the minerals formed by some sort of deposits or heat? Thanks again? Also is the mineral calcite ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobWill Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 There was a post a few years back with fossils replaced by calcite. They can be very beautiful. Look for a hardness test chart that tells you what can scratch what and try it on an inconspicuous spot to see what mineral it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Or put a little vinegar on it and see if it fizzes, if it does it's calcite, if not, quartz. "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go. " I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes "can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 I've never seen a specimen like this. It does look real (not carved) to me. The photo of the specimen from below shows the "indented" area where the shell used to be. I don't think anyone who wanted to carve a snail would include such area as they would just show a simple snail shape and would not include such an indented area. Regarding the placing of vinegar or checking for hardness, I would be reluctant to damage the specimen by scratching it. I would stay away from the use of vinegar too but if insisted upon, it must be done in a small and inconspicuous spot. Very interesting. By the way, if you look at it with a magnifier, can you see any remains of shell anywhere on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
painshill Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 It’s a very interesting item. I think that’s probably a natural concretionary mass formed by the coral-boring gastropod Magilus antiquus and is not a fossil. Typically, they are no more than 500 years old and would certainly be found in the Phillipines. The snail forms a biomineralised mass consisting of a conventional spiral shell from which a hollow tube that bores into the coral gradually extends. The animal inside gradually migrates out of the spiral portion of the shell which then also becomes completely biomineralised. Some discussion here: http://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4501 They are frequently sold as fossils with coral still attached, from Indonesian origins and claimed to be from Pliocene deposits: http://www.indiana9fossils.com/Gastropods/Indonesia/Magilus.htm When cleaned up to remove the coral and with the fragile tubular part snapped off, they are frequently sold as gemstones and incorrectly described as “pearls”. But they are non-nacreous and composed of solid aragonite. The Gemmological Association of Great Britain published a notification about these things in 2010: http://www.gem-a.com/publications/journal-of-gemmology/issues-2008-to-date/hainschwang-2010.aspx Weird, eh? 5 Roger I keep six honest serving-men (they taught me all I knew);Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who [Rudyard Kipling] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 I had no idea about this. Good information painshill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cjvs72 Posted September 17, 2013 Author Share Posted September 17, 2013 Thank you all! Yes mystery solved. I'm not a member but was there anything else said in the article... I'm very curious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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