Final collection: Argentina, page 4

32. The perfect tan cone. Medium-sized reddish tan patinaed cone. Araucaria mirabilis cone. Complete cone as found. Dense and solid. 55 mm long; 49 mm wide by 44 mm thick; five (4.8) ounces. $1,500

33. The gem center cone. Araucaria mirabilis cone. Large-sized tan to salmon patinaed rough surface. This baby kicked around the desert surface for an eon or two and got beat up in a beautiful way. Cone as found, about half remaining. The center is a dark chalcedony gem. Dense and solid. 49 mm long; 57 mm wide by 47 mm thick; five (5.1) ounces. $800

FOLLOWING ARE SMALL SPECIMENS

34. Two aerial lignotubers. We used to call these onions, but the last I heard was that they are aerial lignotubers. They have the appearance of corms.
Golden Onion. Glassy gold. Appears in Ancient Forests on page 141. 37 by 44 mm around; 23 mm thick; 1.3 ounces.
Black Onion. Glassy black. Perfect. Appears in Ancient Forests on page 141. 31 by 39 mm around; 21 mm thick; one ounce.
Both for $150

  1. Two unknown fruit or aerial lignotubers. Cretaceous; Chubut.
    Glassy Gray and Fat. Strawberry shaped. Appears in Ancient Forests on page 143. 61 mm long; 32 by 36 midsection; 2.5 ounces.
    Glassy Gray and Thin. Cretaceous; Chubut. Unknown fruit or aerial lignotuber. Elongate. 66 mm long; 24 by 21 midsection; 1.5 ounces.
    Both for $150
  1. Dates: Carporichnus bertheorum – Upper Cretaceous; Allen Formation, Patagonia. I spent an hour going through a load of these one hot afternoon in Tucson at the old Ramada Inn on Oracle, selecting the best colored, most well-agatized, and perfectly shaped. I rejected 95%. These are the best four I acquired. Rare colors. Nice and plump.
    Yellow Jacket Date. 33 mm long. Yellow coating.
    Red Date. 30 mm long. Glassy red. One partial end.
    Coco Brown Date. 32 mm long.
    Orange Date. 32 mm long. Glassy orange.
    All four dates: SOLD
  1. Seven Pararaucaria cones. Complete cones ranging in size from 37 to 48 mm long.
    All seven: $450
  1. Five small Araucaria mirabilis cones.
    Well-worn cone. Small deep patinaed cone. Complete cone as found. 53 mm long; 29 mm wide by 42 mm thick; three ounces.
    Gray/Pink Perfect Cone. Small perfect pink/gray cone. This was dug out rather than surface-collected, explaining its perfection. 41 mm long; 33 mm wide by 33 mm thick; 1.8 ounces.
    Egg-shaped cone. Something different about it. 35 mm long; 26 mm wide by 22 mm thick; 0.7 ounces.
    Botox Lips Cone. Unusual. 35 mm long; 26 mm wide by 21 mm thick; 0.8 ounces.
    Itsy Bitsy Cone. Mostly complete cone as found. Unusual. Appears in Ancient Forests on page 134. 24 mm long; 19 mm wide by 15 mm thick; 0.2 ounces.
    All five cones: $600

39. Translucent gray slice. Amazing mineralization. 69 by 78 mm; 4 mm thick; 1.6 ounces. SOLD

40. Purple Limb. Full round branch end, wind-polished in rare coloring, gemstone solid. Cretaceous; Rio Negro. 48 by 40 mm polished face; 48 mm long; six ounces. SOLD

41. Darkness Visible. Full round branch end, wind-polished in rare coloring, gemstone solid. 27 by 32 mm polished face; 82 mm long; six ounces. $350

42. Thick slice. Thick, full round. Glassy center. 68 by 82 mm polished face; 22 mm thick; eight ounces. $350

43. Smooth Fork. Full round, branched, as found limb section. Wind polished. All natural. Cretaceous; Rio Negro. 110 mm long; 26 by 26 mm on thicker end; five ounces. $400

43. Teardrop. Full round branch end. Knotty, surface character piece. 25 by 25 mm polished face with a dark teardrop; 68 mm long; two ounces. $200

44. Wild Thing. Unknown gnarled complex branch/short shoot full round. Wind polished. All natural. Cretaceous; Rio Negro. 93 mm long; up to 5 cm thick; seven ounces. $300

45. Long and Thin. Full round with nice patina, attractive wind polish. The long section is cut and polished on both ends and the small piece is cut and polished on one end and natural on the other. Cell preservation is amazing. 23 by 18 mm polished faces; 10 cm long total; 2.6 ounces. $300

46. Dark Gold. Full round with rugged dark patina, attractive wind polish. The longer section is cut and polished on both ends and the small piece is cut and polished on one end and natural on the other. Cell preservation is amazing. 27 by 22 mm polished faces; 53 mm long total; 2.3 ounces. SOLD

47. Rectangular Cycad. Top grade gem cycadeoid cut into a rectangle. Partial cone. 86 by 46 by 7 mm; 2.3 ounces. $250

48. The Cycad Puzzle. Somehow in the process of cutting a top grade cycadeoid, I came up with these two pieces that fit nicely together. Top grade cycad with even diamonds. Natural wind polish. Two larger faces are about 8 by 8 cm. Polished on four faces. It’s an unusual piece so be sure to examine it carefully. One pound and five ounces. $450

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