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Got permission to hunt and old home site this afternoon.  The owner was very willing to show me two rocks of some sort he found in his yard. 

What might they be?

Thanks in advance.

2018040895175136.jpg

2018040895175143.jpg

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The first is quartz with tourmaline inclusions *the black crystals*. Nice.  The second is citrine quartz, also very nice. The quartz/tourmaline mix is not an uncommon find in some area's of the country however the citrine makes me wonder as that mineral is not found in North America if I recall correctly and much of it is treated amethyst quartz.  Could be someones old collection left behind.

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14 hours ago, DDancer said:

The first is quartz with tourmaline inclusions *the black crystals*. Nice.  The second is citrine quartz, also very nice. The quartz/tourmaline mix is not an uncommon find in some area's of the country however the citrine makes me wonder as that mineral is not found in North America if I recall correctly and much of it is treated amethyst quartz.  Could be someones old collection left behind.

I know of a pretty big outcropping of it up here in Alaska.. I've heard it called Root Beer Quartz, pretty cool stuff.

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Cool :)  I stand corrected.

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Thanks so much for the information. 

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Hi

DDancer and Brian are both right. You can find Citrine Quartz crystals in their natural state or you can

take Amethyst and heat it a lot and get the same result. There is a big area of citrine quartz that runs from NW South Carolina up into Central North Carolina.

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On 4/9/2018 at 5:13 AM, DDancer said:

The first is quartz with tourmaline inclusions *the black crystals*. Nice.  The second is citrine quartz, also very nice. The quartz/tourmaline mix is not an uncommon find in some area's of the country however the citrine makes me wonder as that mineral is not found in North America if I recall correctly and much of it is treated amethyst quartz.  Could be someones old collection left behind.

Hi DDancer… no worries, there’s no way for most of us to know that a brown variety of quartz exists in Alaska. Although it is a bit dark, citrine was a very reasonable ID, and you did qualify your response. The technique about heating amethyst is widely known by collectors.

Good eye on the tourmaline too, it wasn’t an ideal example. It is the (nearly) triangular cross-section or end view that very much helps to identify this mineral. Attached are two photos to illustrate this structural characteristic below.

Thanks DDancer, you know your rocks and minerals pretty darn well. :cool:

Jim.
5acee0133f842_TOURMALINECRYSTALSSFR18WG.JPG.c08cb25c5062c4432468a5ad1854939a.JPG

5acee069bdd47_TOURMALINECRYSTALSSFCLO18WG.JPG.6a60a7609400e3933ee1a1da217dd2f3.JPG

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Man, I really like that green in the second pic, Jim...gorgeous. And I agree....DD does know his rocks!

Jim

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Are they worth anything?

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Mark this may sound a little blase but "A rock is only worth what one is willing to pay for it."  Its something I say often because... well its true.  But don't let that put ya off.  The tourmaline specimen might be worth a buck or two and the citrine can be worth up to about 10 bucks to the right person.  My opinion.

Thanks for the kind words all.

Citrine is kind of a generic definition based on coloration of quartz.  Yellow and gold coloration of true citrine is due to iron and is not very common.  Most common citrine is actually smoky quartz of very light coloration and then you have the type that is an alteration by heat treatment of other minerals.  The specimen Mark has shown falls in the latter type to me due to the strong darkening at the tips.  But I'll not rule out native simply because its not in my hands ;)

Jim, thanks, you point out the geometry of tourmaline nicely with those pictures.  The specimen shown has some cross section bits that helped identify it but for me the outside luster, layering and angles *not to mention having picked up bunches of this stuff ;) hehh* were pretty clear for what is shown.  Not as nice as those gemmy pieces your showing but I'd stick it in my collection.

Jeff, I've not picked any citrine up in the area your describing but I'll keep an eye out for it.  Clear, smokey, rose and amythest are all I've seen in the Carolina's.  Still hoping to score some good blue though.

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