http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/7173/dscn0798re6.jpg

I was lucky enough to be invited to a super nice and private fossil hunting site in South Dakota. when we got there, I was lucky enough to find some nice smaller ammonites, but my youngest son found some really really nice Sphenodiscus ammonites. This is the 3rd best one he found. I cant wait to start prepping it this winter and make it look like FIRE!!! I just moved to Montana 18 months ago but realized before we moved here that I would start hunting for ammos. Its super amazing to me that we have done this well in such a short time!!! But then again, all I do is dream fossils. Im always on the lookout for a new sites! Plus I will drive where ever I have to to find really nice display pieces!!! Seems like there is no end to this hobby. Enjoy

:shock: That is a big ammonite. You are lucky to live in a place where you can drive to fossil sites. I have found other kinds of fossils (gastropods, bivalves, whale bones) but never a cephalopod - I have to buy mine...

That is a wonderful ammonite! One like that makes it all worth while.

Be sure to post it all polished! If that red/pink comes up like I would think, it will be wonderful even for those of us who know nothing about fossils!

Dont dispare cuttlegirl. I too have bought fossils, but finding them is were the real fun is at. For me anyways.

And Dwhatley, i will be sure to post a photo of this once its all polished up. thanks for the interest.
I will post more photos of some other cool fossils when i find the time.

Fantastic ammonite! Is the red colouration common in those nodules? I ask because occasionally we find a mother of pearl effect on the yorkshire coast ammonites from over here but most do not show it. Looking forward to seeing it finished!:notworth:

Hey neuropteris, thats a tuff name to type. Just call me ron. I do know some folks in England that hunt the yorkshire coast, but Ive never heard of pearl effect on ammos there. By any chance do you have any photos of yours? I would love to see them.
Besides all that, I just unwrapped an ammo that my son found from this last trip we went on and didnt even know he found it?!!! We were all busy finding and wrapping fossils up, but my jaw dropped to the floor when I saw this ammo!!! Just amazing!! and belive me, we dont find these kinds of things every day! Most trips are just campiing out, digging in the dirt and hope for the best. Sometimes we come home after hundreds and hundreds of miles and bring nothing home!!! This trip just happened to be one of those super good fossil trips. I will also have to show you guys some of our fossil fishes from last year. That was also our best fossil fish trips ever!! Im going to have to start selling some of this stuff someday. Just too much stuff to keep!!! Ron

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/7464/dscn0803nb8.jpg

Another beauty! you did have a good trip:rainbow:

Have you got ID's for these?

Yes Indeed Architeuthoceras. That first one is Sphenodiscus and the last one is Jeletskytes nebraskensis, a huge female nebraskensis at that!!!

And just call me Andy Ron (a lot easier to spell). Unfortunately I don't have a yorkshire coast one with the nacreous effect - I did but I swapped it years ago, not realising I'd got a bit of a rarity:banghead:. Never found one since. They are nowhere near as spectacular as the ones you've got, just patches of colour on the body chamber

Andy

Thats ok Andy. but is there a way to put on several photos at once for one posting? I have series of photos showing how a fossil looks when its found, then all the steps of prepping to the end and ow nice it looks once all the work is done. I would love to show you folks some prepping steps of how I actualy do this. Some are quite nice! I just dont know how to put on 5 or 6 photos at one time?

You can put four photos at a time under attach files, and then "manage attachments" button.

Would you comment a little on each of the "steps" as far as how you identify what to "clean out" and what remains and then how you go about it and what you do when you "oops". Also please describe the polishing process.

Ok folks. It took me quite awhile, but I did a bunch of prep work on the big ammo that is pictured at the beginning of this thread. Its ashame that you cant see all the colors in this thing. If you turn it slightly, all the beautiful shiny reds turns into beautiful shiny greens!!! There is also some pinks and purples on the edge that also turns into streaks of greens too!! Just freakin AWESOME!!! I am quite pleased with this one. Enjoy.

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/185/004bfa6.jpg

Looking good Ron! :notworth:

Hey Kevin. Thanks for the compliment. I thought for sure, once i posted a pic of this beauty that I would get alot of WOWS!!! but you are the only one who has said anything. Hmmmmmm,,,,, makes me wonder?

Wow, that really is an absolute beauty. You have done a truly excellent job prepping the ammonite, just how many hours did it take you do you think? It is stunning and will be a beautiful item to keep forever.

Most jealous here!

I had WOW :shock: :rainbow: thoughts, but couldn't think of anything to say that would do it justice... It also looks like that ammonite that sold at auction for some crazy-high price recently.

I think maybe you have been upstaged by the colossal squid, but yeah, :rainbow: I'm jealous and wish I had anything near that colorful in my collection.

Can you see the sutures? I think I spot them in the photo...

I think CG's right. I couldn't pry myself away from the webcast to look at anything else...or to sleep...or to eat...
It's spectacular!

Amazing! Love those colours.

J

I wowed it several times (and am now looking for something for this year's ring that is fossil based) but I didn't want to muddy up all your great photos with my blather. You might note your view count before you pout :wink: as we all really love the photos and the history of the find!

Hey Phil. Im guessing that I have about 6 hours into this thing so far with about 3 to go to finish it up.

Cuttlegirl, there are a very few sutures to be seen on this fossil, but they are on the smaller part of the keel and hard to see.

Dwhatley, I didnt mean to pout, but I cant seem to see where the 'view count' is? Im quessing its right in front of me somewhere? also, be glad your not standing nearby when Im prepping, I think ive invented a few new cusswords over the years! Ha!!!

Hey gang. Here are 2 little ammos that I finished up not too long ago. I realized that niether were complete before I started, but went ahead and prepped them out anyways because of the colors they have! I am quite pleased with them even though they will not go into my collection. Also, I am going to start building a web page soon to show and sell all my 'extra' fossils, but being super busy this summer, thats going to take me till the Fall I think? By any chance does this forum have a place to trade and sell fossils? Ive been asked to post some for sale on another forum, but havent gotten around to that just yet.

http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/1782/dscn0918wd8.jpg

Those are real nice fossils Ron, even if not complete. :cool:

The Marketplace Forum (http://www.tonmo.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=16) would be an ideal place to post some of those you want to sell.

Ron,

To know you have not been ignored:

Click Forums
Click Fossils and History
Scroll past the stickies until you see your thread
Look to the far right - the last column shows the number of viewings, the one to the left that shows the number of replies.

As of this instructional, there are only 24 replies (this makes 25) but 1,301 viewings! :sagrin:

Do you create cuss words that sound like they came from the period of the fossil?

What lovely fossils.

J

Ok folks. I didnt think I could make this fossil any better than it already was, but Wow, now its even better!!! I had to take lots and lots of photos, then go through them, delete lots, but I ended up with a couple of purty good pictures. What I was trying to do was capture the greens that I was talking about. I also captured some purply blues too!! Just absolutly facinates me! And Im still not happy with it if you can belive that?!!! As I was turning this thing from side to side and this way and that way to try to get the best pictures I could, I could still see some scratches from all that sanding. Belive me, I was begining to loose my finger prints from soooooooo much sanding. But I think I can resand and repolish in about an hour or so, so thats not too bad. One pic is from inside and one from outside in the sun. I dont know why the one in the sun looks dusty, its not dusty at all. Anyways, enjoy.

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/7484/sp002bla1.jpg
http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/7682/sp002dvp4.jpg

That's a beut. Ron. :smile:

I always think your pics are incredible and know the actual fossil is even better. I never knew fossils could look so dazzling.

Stunning, simply stunning. It's now not just a fascinating specimen of an extinct animal, but an object of art too. Genius.

Beautiful, I wish I could see it in person so I could look at all the color variations.