Deinonychus

Since there has been a sudden uptick in people following my nonsense, here is my favorite #mineral specimen.

#Pyromorphite from the Wheatley Mines in #Pennsylvania circa ~1870s. Before being shut down, the Phoenixville District sourced much of the lead used in bullets for the American Civil War. I like the thought of Pennsylvania rocks breaking Confederate skulls.

Specimen mine. Photo Mark Mauthner. Ex. Wheatley Collection

#mineralogy #minerals #crystals #geology #earthsciences

Dec 19, 2022 at 5:26amWeb
Show threadShield MaidenDec 19, 2022
@deinonychus Instant deep envy....and a need to have earrings made from it...
Show threadDeinonychusDec 19, 2022
@Judeet88 Literally never. Cutting this would be a crime and pyromorphite is too soft for jewelry as it is.
Show threadShield MaidenDec 19, 2022
@deinonychus Yes...damn...oh well never mind...will look through my collection of rocks and see if there's any I can get some earrings made out of a small piece!
Show threadDeinonychusDec 19, 2022
@Judeet88 If you want a nice piece of PA to wear, I highly recommend Delaware County garnets. Beautiful reds and durable enough they won't get scratched up. Natalisgems on IG has a bunch of gem rough for sale
Show threadShield MaidenDec 19, 2022
@deinonychus I'm in the UK...I do have a rock I think I bought some time ago that has garnets in it...I do go to gemstone fairs here and know someone who's a regular exhibitor but whom I haven't contacted for a few years.
Show threadDeinonychusDec 19, 2022
@Judeet88 Awesome! The local shows are the best for find strange rocks. The UK has a bunch of gem and mineral clubs that usually put on shows. Mindat.org tracks a lot of them since their admin team is largely UK-based
Show threadShield MaidenDec 19, 2022
@deinonychus I first started getting interested in exhibitors when I was studying geology with the Open University and attended their annual 3 day symposiums up and down the country. I find some pretty strange stuff during walks out and about too all over the country. My house is like a rock museum...
Show threadjoy larkin 🌺✨Dec 19, 2022

@deinonychus

Oh whoa, I had no idea about this history of Phoenixville, PA. It's just a sleepy suburban #Philly town these days.

Show threadDeinonychusDec 19, 2022
@joy Spent years in the area and never knew. There was a rich history of iron and lead mining in the region, Chester County produced some mineralogical wonders
Show threadjoy larkin 🌺✨Dec 19, 2022
@deinonychus Whoa, I had no idea. I lived in the area (Chesco/Delco) for a good decade and a half and my family is still there. Was the mining just mainly northern Chesco?
Show threadDeinonychusDec 19, 2022
@joy A lot in northern Chester (French Creek, Phoenixville, Hopewell) but surprisingly well dispersed. Delaware County has its own mineralogical history, including some lovely garnets.
Show threadMartinDec 19, 2022
@deinonychus This is an example one of the things I like most about Mastodon…just looking through my feed and finding something stunning and very interesting. Bravo!
Show threadPhotoist♾️Dec 19, 2022
@deinonychus @shannonsays
Show threadDoug Baker - Elbows Up! 🇨🇦Dec 19, 2022
@deinonychus By that you mean Union bullets, no?
Show threadDeinonychusDec 19, 2022
@SonofaGeorge Absolutely.
Show threadDoug Baker - Elbows Up! 🇨🇦Dec 20, 2022
@deinonychus I've been to Gettysburg and have one of each - a Union bullet and a Confederate bullet.
Show threadDan LeppoldDec 19, 2022

@deinonychus I've collected many times at this site, never found a specimen like that. Unfortunately there is a little stream at the mine shaft and rocks have moss on them. I wish I had a Buck for every time I went "ooooooooo" . . . only to be followed by "darn moss".

My best find there is actually part of an 1800's clay pipe, discarded by one of the miners.

Nice post, Cheers, Dan Leppold

Show threadDeinonychusDec 19, 2022
@danleppold Yep, still get some scraps out of the tailings, but anything well-crystallized is going to be much older material. I happened to get lucky at an auction, otherwise I might as well start searching for hen's teeth. I'm glad you enjoyed the post!