William Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 This isn't a good, quality image. I didn't intend on posting it here. However, after reading through more information regarding hunting for fossils, I have a question. Every fossil I have collected, I found either in a creek on the property where this picture was taken, or basically on top of the ground as we were/are cutting trails through the property to ride ATV's. What's in the picture is a band of coal. My son loves to collect coal and wanted a picture of this. Should I break away some of the rock and starting separating it looking for fossils inside? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Posted September 10, 2013 Author Share Posted September 10, 2013 Of course, chipping away assuming it's shale or something I can chip away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 Better fossils are more likely to be found in the layers above or below the coal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Posted September 10, 2013 Author Share Posted September 10, 2013 Better fossils are more likely to be found in the layers above or below the coal. This might be an ignorant comment/question, but I assume there's no tale tale sign as to where a fossil might be? You just pick an area and start breaking away, then separating the rocks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Posted September 10, 2013 Author Share Posted September 10, 2013 There are rocks all in the creek below this picture. I suppose it makes more sense to break those apart instead of trying to get something from the vertical sections (at least to start). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jed '06 Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 (edited) Hi William, I'm pretty much a newbie but have hunted at a similar spot. What I did was look for loose fossils or pieces of rock with fossils visible below the coal and rock bed. Once I located the loose stuff I just looked closely at edges of the bedded material straight above the loose stuff. I've found what erose said to be exactly what I find in SW Indiana. Sometimes the fossil deposits may be concentrated in a small length of the bedded rock/coal. When I find loose fossils in a creek I start at that point and work my way upstream from there checking out both banks until I find the spot on the bank where they are eroding from. Sometimes they will be eroding out of the creek bottom itself. Low water levels sometimes will reveal these areas. Check out my tools I bought from Menards, picture & description on the "collecting gear" forum ! Think they will be OK for the soft stuff and occasional hard stuff. Good luck in your new spot! Edited September 10, 2013 by Jed '06 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Posted September 10, 2013 Author Share Posted September 10, 2013 Hi William, I'm pretty much a newbie but have hunted at a similar spot. What I did was look for loose fossils or pieces of rock with fossils visible below the coal and rock bed. Once I located the loose stuff I just looked closely at edges of the bedded material straight above the loose stuff. I've found what erose said to be exactly what I find in SW Indiana. Sometimes the fossil deposits may be concentrated in a small length of the bedded rock/coal. When I find loose fossils in a creek I start at that point and work my way upstream from there checking out both banks until I find the spot on the bank where they are eroding from. Sometimes they will be eroding out of the creek bottom itself. Low water levels sometimes will reveal these areas. Check out my tools I bought from Menards, picture & description on the "collecting gear" forum ! Think they will be OK for the soft stuff and occasional hard stuff. Good luck in your new spot! Thanks, Jed. I'll take a look at the tools. It'll be fun hunting a different way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jed '06 Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 Hi Willam, I'm new at that kind of hunting too, learning quite a bit on Fossil Forum. I've basically been a surface hunter since I was a kid, splitting chunks of shale in the coal mines and finding fossils eroded out and loose. What hurts when you start digging is when you accidentally fracture a great fossil:( , but it happens! Have you hunted any spots other than your property? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 That 'lintel' looks pretty solid; you could probably fracture it, but it doesn't look too splittable. You could dig above it to see whether there might be workable rock to play with. Breaking rock is one thing, controlling where and how it breaks is something else again; pick your battles "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 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 Overburden can be burdensome. Find what you can loose, then, attack the outcrop if all else fails. There's always dynamite. (That is meant as a joke. ) 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...
William Posted September 11, 2013 Author Share Posted September 11, 2013 Hi Willam, I'm new at that kind of hunting too, learning quite a bit on Fossil Forum. I've basically been a surface hunter since I was a kid, splitting chunks of shale in the coal mines and finding fossils eroded out and loose. What hurts when you start digging is when you accidentally fracture a great fossil:( , but it happens! Have you hunted any spots other than your property? Sorry, Jed. Just saw your question. I hunted for fossil shark's teeth when I lived in Beaufort, SC. I used to hunt along Broad River. I actually found a large Megalodon tooth when I was a teenager, but misplaced it somewhere over the years. Over the last couple of years, I've found a few (not Megalodon, just some of what I've posted here) on my in-law's property. And recently found several more as I make it a point to try and find at least one while there on the weekends. To answer your question, the property is the only place I have really looked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jed '06 Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 Hi William, Sent you a private message about an area or two! Jed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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