Unlikely find, not metal but good non the less!

[Florida-Hunter]

I didn't know where to post this exactly but since I use an MXT, though you folks might enjoy this find...

Well it's funny how things work out. I went to search a new area I've never been to before this afternoon. There are a few historic landmarks peppering this semi remote area. One spot I checked out had many huge limestone boulders piled up along a corner of a field. This field is in the process of being developed and all the big rocks were piled up together in one spot. Naturally I wanted to see if any remnants of old buildings, bricks, broken cobalt glass, or anything else was scattered amongst the rubble that could indicate the area was old and worth searching. Well as I looked around I spotted this whole and complete fossilized turtle embedded within the limestone. It was nearly impossible to get it out of the Lime stone but eventually, and after a trip to the local Home Depot, I retrieved the 50 million year old turtle.

I am in the process of contacting a local fossil expert to find out the value of this complete turtle fossil. Not sure if it's worth much, but still a cool and unique find!!

By the way, these pictures really don't do it justice! Looks better in person.

Update: I have since got a reply from the fossil expert. Says it's a rare find.... Worth some good money. He says I should wrap it up in a towel, and box it. Apparently he's seen too many good fossils like this accidentally dropped and has advised me to not let this happen. He knows folks in the field that will help me clean it up correctly. I'm stoked with this unlikely find!!

By the way, I dunno if it's really 50 million years old.... Just joking with ya there.

 

[jog]

Thats pretty cool!

 

[nw1886]

Dude!!! Just when I think I'm getting jaded, something like that is found! (God I love this hobby!) Unlikely hell...UNREAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My wife won't get up to look at this! (Who's 50 million years old?) Ooops

 

[Hillbilly Bob]

That is fantastic!!!!!......................

 

[Nancy-IL]

That's one heck of a find! Good story and PLEASE let us know how things turns out. BIG congratulations to you! Thanks and HH, Nancy

 

[BarberBill]

That's really neat! We often make non-metallic finds when detecting just because we're in the process of looking. I Know I notice more than I did before I got into the hobby.
BB

 

[Shooter65]

Hey man, that thing is awesome. All a guy or gal has to do is keep your eye to the ground and it will amaze you what will show up in time. Great job

 

[tony (Orlando FL)]

n/t

 

[silvernail]

That's a nice turtle fossil. I never heard of one in limestone before, so that sounds odd. Your experts will likely want to know the exact geographic location it came from so the age of the formation it came from can be established. Limestone is usually a deep ocean sediment, where turtles don't go, so I'm dying of curiosity about what you find out. Maybe the little nipper got lost in a cave or fell into a crack in rocks formed much earlier. If you live anywhere around a University with a geology department, that might be the best place for an ID. The fossil will be worth a few bucks on the collector market but maybe not as much as he is worth to you as a trophy of the chase. Keep us filled in, Please!

 

[Florida-Hunter]

Yea, I am meeting this local fossil guy sometime in about a week or so, he's up in Orlando so maybe three hours from where I'm at....He been collecting fossils for about 20 to 30 years. He says that finding a whole and complete turtle like the one I found is not unheard of, but is really kind of rare, and in all of his years collecting he's never found one. Says they are always found in pieces. Anyway, he is going to take some of his recent finds, and my turtle up to North Carolina, as he knows a fossil prep. expert who can clean it, date it, and generally tell me more about the value, etc. He said that most of the turtle fossils found in Florida are from the Pleistocene period, however a very few are from the next period earlier. Did some research and the Pleistocene period was roughly 1.8 million years ago, up to 10,000 years ago, so kind of a later period of time as far as prehistoric dating goes. It's about the same time that saber toothed tigers, and giant sloths, and wholly mammoths were running around.

 

[Nancy-IL]

How big is the fossil? It's one nice find. Thanks, Nancy

 

[Florida-Hunter]

This little turtle is small, He's about 5.5 inches from front to back. Fossil guy says it's almost definitely an ancient box turtle, as they are sometimes found in this area, and by the size.... However until he sees it personally, don't know for certain.

 

[Florida-Hunter]

By the way, he suggested that I go back to the site I found this at and look around some more, maybe bring a sledge hammer and break up more of the rock I found this in. More often than not.... several of the same fossils are found in the same rock, in the same place. So there is a chance that more turtle shells are still embedded in the same stone! However I will tell you, this limestone I found it in is really hard rock. I bought a heavy chisel and a 3 lb. mini sledge at home depot to get this turtle out of the rock, and it was a real chore, took at least twenty minutes of hammering away. The chisel tip was malformed by the time I was finished!

 

[Nancy-IL]

How interesting. By all means go back to where you found it. If there's more limestone, send it our way........I could use it around our Koi pond. Boy, that stuff is heavy! Thanks and we'll be waiting to hear more. Nancy

 

[crabby]

n/t

 

[apikoros]

Sorry I'm late, but

 

[texastreasures]

Based on my experience in herpetology, it looks like the remnants of an ornate box turtle or Florida box turtle. 25 to 50 years could have faded away the dark green/brown pigmentation and left it looking washed out or bleached. In fact, some fossilization or "petrification" could have even occurred in this small time frame. I'm not sure it's particularly old or extremely rare, but it's a cool find nonetheless!

 

[B.T]

n/t

 

[sbmsp]

That is AWESOME!!!!!

I thought stumbling on an arrow head was a treat! Definately keep us up to date......