19. Golden cone gem. Araucaria mirabilis cone. Complete cone as found, cut and polished. One of my first cones (Dernbach 1990s). I’d planned to use this one on the cover of Petrified Wood and even had a flyer made with it as a cover piece. But then I decided to go with one where the seeds stood out better, even though I prefer this one. Everything about it is perfect from the pleasing exterior to the astounding interior. The center core is simply beautiful. Of the hundreds of amazing cones that passed through my hands, this is the one great one I never tried to sell. To me it’s an amazing gem. It appears in Petrified Wood several times—four times on the end sheets and on page 135 where it owns a half page. 56 by 83 mm polished faces; 32 mm thick; seven ounces. SOLD
20. The potato cone. Araucaria elongata cone. Complete cone as found, cut and polished. One of my first cones (de los Santos 1990s). Jurassic cone of the species Araucaria but maybe not mirabilis. These are far rarer than the usual Santa Cruz Province cones and are not well understood. It is perfect with attractive deep golden color, some red, and it is very glassy. The exteriors always look like this – kind of like a potato. They were originally sold as pollen cones but that is not likely correct. 98 by 51 mm polished faces; 48 mm thick; eleven ounces. $2,000
21. Fresh cut fruit one. Araucaria mirabilis cone. Complete cone as found, cut and polished by FJD. For the first decade that I was able to find Argentine cones they were always surface collected, generally brown with evidence of exposure to the elements. At some point several years prior to 2004, cones like this that were excavated began to show up. They don’t have the magical exteriors that others do, but they have something the others don’t, and that’s perfectly preserved bracts. I remember when I first cut one of these and how I was struck by how much it looked as if I had just cut a piece of fruit. The cellular detail is amazing. 8.5 by 7 cm polished faces; 5.5 cm thick; thirteen ounces. SOLD
22. Fresh cut fruit two. Araucaria mirabilis cone. Complete cone as found, cut and polished by FJD. This baby is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. 8.5 by 7 cm polished faces; 6 cm thick; fifteen ounces. SOLD
23. Salmon Center. Araucaria mirabilis cone. Santa Cruz, Patagonia. Salmon colored center with an attractively unusual deep salmon/orange somewhat electric coloration and artfully arranged seeds. 6 by 7.5 cm polished faces; 4.5 cm thick; 7.5 ounces. SOLD
24. Large dark red cone. Araucaria mirabilis cone. Complete cone as found. Nice stem and apex. Somewhat abraded by the elements. Attractive deep red patina. Dense and solid. Tells a story. 78 mm long; 60 mm wide by 47 mm thick; ten (9.8) ounces. $2500
25. Wormy windy cone. Araucaria mirabilis cone. Complete cone as found. If I recall correctly, I got this on my first visit to Luis at his home in the early-mid nineties. It has always been my favorite surface-collected cone. It has more character than a Tolstoy novel has characters. Wind-polished and wind-rolled around the Argentine high desert for a thousand years, a natural sculpture with a smooth, waxy-appearing surface with several tiny worm holes, a range of interesting colors and textures, and an abrasion on the stem end just enough to reveal seeds and a beautifully patinaed mandala. Dense and solid. It appears in Petrified Wood on pages 10 and 132. 56 mm from apex to stem end; 6 cm wide by 6 cm thick (almost round); ten (9.7) ounces. SOLD
26. Smaller rugged surface cone. Araucaria mirabilis cone. Complete cone as found. 47 mm from apex to stem end; 5 cm wide by 5 cm thick (almost round); five (5.2) ounces. $1,600
27. The Armadillo. Araucaria mirabilis cone. Complete cone as found. Unusual shape with giant bracts, looks like a tiny armadillo. Attractive tan patina. Whole, uncut, au natural specimen. Nearly perfect. It has an unusual shape that I believe is a cone that is not fully opened. I have only seen a few like this. Otherwise it’s all there and well preserved, caught in the act of unfolding like a fern. Awesome and interesting. Superior small cone. 62 mm tall and 42 mm wide by 45 mm thick; five ounces. $900
28. The unbelievably perfect cone. Large salmon/tan patinaed cone. Unbelievably perfect and captivating Araucaria mirabilis cone. Complete cone as found. Dense and solid. 70 mm long; 60 mm wide by 49 mm thick; eight (8.2) ounces. $2,500
29. Double cone. Araucaria mirabilis cone. Complete cone as found. I have only owned two of these. My best guess without cutting into it is that it comprises two cones that grew into each other from infancy, rather than some sort of conjoined twins. Six cm tall and 7.5 cm wide; nine ounces. $1,600
30. Uncut fresh cut fruit. Araucaria mirabilis cone. Complete cone as found. I saved this one because it is so perfect that I felt it could not be improved upon, although I must confess a desire to cut it. 8 by 7 cm; fourteen ounces. SOLD
31. Potato Cone Two. Araucaria elongata cone. Complete cone as found. Perfecto. 8.5 by 4.5 cm; 7.5 ounces. $1,100