EFMLS Convention 2015


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Keep your eye on this entry as we make our plan to attend the EFMLS Convention, March 27-29, 2015 in
Hickory, North Carolina. The Catawba Valley Gem & Mineral Club is hosting, and we will be rolling down in the “RockHound Express” once again. This promises to be a great weekend for the lapidary artists, amateur geologists, happy-go-lucky rockhounds, students of geology, and folks who like clever conversation with fellow rockhounds.
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Herkimer Diamond is the New York State Mineral

Herkimer Diamond, the unofficial state mineral of New York!

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Herkimer Diamond as the state mineral of New York? Did you know there was a New York state mineral? Did you know there had not been a state mineral? We knew none of the answers to these questions until an article by Robert Harding educated us on the legislation being pushed by New York State Senator James Seward to name the Herkimer Diamond the New York state mineral.
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Antiques Roadshow Tips and Tricks

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Antiques Roadshow comes to New York City, and the rockhounds from American Geode had to be there.  We had volunteered weeks in advance from our PBS Channel 13’s homepage. We did not know what our jobs were going to be, or what the day would entail.

We did learn one Antiques Roadshow tip straight away. No stamps, no coins,,,,and no fossils! Alas no fossils, but as most rockhounds are also collecting aficianados, and we also deal in antiques, antiquities, and folk art, we were able to conjure up some items for appraisal. More on that later…

Now when you go to Antiques Roadshow, we strongly suggest you follow this advice:
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Ice Age Fossils

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Ice Age fossils in Indiana? Yes, the glaciers covered Indiana, and yes, we had mastodons and mammoths! The Indiana State Museum presents this, and educates its visitors, and delights all with their Ice Age display that runs through August 17th.

Now I believed I knew Indiana natural history pretty well, but I learned today that a nearly intact skull was discovered outside Anderson, Indiana. It’s one of the finest in the world.
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Museum of North Carolina Minerals

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On the way to EFMLS Wildacres, we stopped at the Museum of North Carolina Minerals. What  a great idea that was!  The museum is very manageable. Do give yourself 30 minutes to explore the inner halls that tell the story, through “museum quality,” naturally, examples of quartz, pyrite, rare and unusual minerals excavated during the long and colorful mining history in North Carolina.
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