So far this season there have not been many great agates brought into the museum. I did receive an email from Jacqueline Schmidt, who is a Michigan transplant now living in Minnesota. She found this almost pound and a half Lake Superior agate in a farmer’s field. Because it was not found on a beach, it suffered less erosion and still has a partial husk.
In June, Dan McGraw, from Manchester, Iowa, came into the museum to show me some Lakers he found in his home state. During the glaciation time, huge walls of ice scraped Minnesota clean and deposited glacial till (including agates) in Iowa. The largest of the four agates, shown below in the upper right, is four pounds. This specimen is clearly an agate, but only a small window with great banding peaks through the husk on the bottom end of the specimen. I am glad I do not have to make the decision whether to cut or face polish the specimen. The upper left and bottom right specimens are fortification agates. The lower left agate has an amethyst center.
In June, Mark and Kimberly Buda from Bay City, MI visited the Grand Marais area. East of town Kimberly found this fabulous 4.7 ounce Lake Superior agate. Four photos are included to show all sides of this marvelous specimen.
Karen, thank you for sharing these beauties!! Cathy