Found it on a beach

[Dabeach13]

I often look for sea glass. In Hampton, VA I saw this rock and haven’t really seen anything like it before. It’s about the size of a quarter and approx 3/8” thick. What I thought was unique was that it doesn’t have any sharp edges and looks very weather which I guess could have been caused by the water. I’m certainly no expert but I can’t even figure out what rock family it belongs in. Help would be appreciated as I am mostly just curious.

 

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[Icewing]

Does it stick to a magnet?

 

[vpnavy]

I noticed this was your very first post Dabeach - so, Welcome Aboard! You didn't list your state (or country) in your profile. So, you might consider jumping over to Sub-Forums: Select Your Area.... and selecting location information (i.e., clubs, hunts, finds, legends, maps, etc.) directly related to your state (or country).

 

[Dabeach13]

It doesn’t stick to my strongest fridge magnet, however there may be a very slight attraction.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Welcome from White Plains, New York!

Could be hematite. https://www.google.com/search?q=hem...oLnWAhUH5YMKHdETDkMQ_AUICigB&biw=1043&bih=542

 

[sutphin]

NOT SURE BUT I WOULD CALL IT BEAR PAW STONE.

 

[smokeythecat]

Looks melted. Possibly manmade, but outside chance it's a tektite.

 

[Dabeach13]

Certainly looks and feels melted. I don’t think it is at all magnetic now, after testing on an even stronger magnet. I doubt it is manmade as it has very small needle sized pours in a few locations. It’s very smooth even with the pours. I googled the tectite and saw some similarities but also described as a glass, and this doesn’t feel like glass. I do believe if I hit it with a hammer it wouldn’t break, but don’t want to ruin the rock as I like it on its current form, and I’d be sad if it did break. Hematite pictures are close but nothing very similar in that link.

 

[Johnbrian]

Beach tumbled/weathered fossil scute?

 

[Dabeach13]

Interesting theory, never crossed my mind, but google images does show some similarities. Any suggestions on where I could take it to have an expert take a look? Was thinking Smithsonian, but seems kinda silly if it’s just a rock. Thought for sure someone would be able to tell me what kind of rock it was, but now I’m even more curious.

 

[Underwonder]

It looks like something fossilized to me, but not sure WHAT it was originally. It reminds me of a "stone" I picked up on a Florida beach that turned out to be a fossilized bone. Photos were sent to the natural history museum specialist who suggested it was part of a Wooly Mammoth or Mastadon...

There have been other black fossilized finds on the beach such as black shark's teeth and larger type teeth from drum fish-possibly. I am no expert....just a guess... I started the investigation with a rock and gem specialist who suggested my piece was a bone fragment...which led me to inquire with the local natural history museum. Good luck! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Plug N Play]

botryoidal hematite

 

[Dabeach13]

I’m gonna take it to the natural history museum here, and see what they say. Thanks for the feedback, I’ll keep you all posted on what I find...

 

[Itsmine]

Magma? Looks like lava that hit the water. Is it heavy?

 

[History Hunter02]

That's an easy one. What you have there is a fragment of a pufferfish or other fish mouth plate. It is fossilized and is probably 10,000 years or older.

 

[Dabeach13]

I took it to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. First I walked around the rock and mineral section and tried to find anything that looked like this rock. Although I did find a few similarities, I also took a magnet with me and anything else it was even close to was magnetic. I then went into the DISCOVERY section where they had people working to help identify it. NO ONE could tell me what it was. A non-professional passer by seemed to think it was something volcanic, or possibly even sand that had been struck by lightning. Neither of these seemed to add up for me, so I'm back to being clueless.

 

[Joe-Dirt]

Creosote coating or tar from ship building/repair

 

[Shawn971]

It could be Goethite, which is iron bearing. It's found all over the place in significance with theses states hence one being yours. Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Colorado, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, and Florida. I could be wrong but make sure to take a look at that too.

 

[Madmox]

Creosote coating or tar from ship building/repair

That is 100% on point. The other thing it could be and we get it a lot here in California in Southern California beaches is a naturally occurring crude oil that washes up on the beach like that. Though maybe it could be from the offshore oil rigs too. Anyway. We get it here too. Heat it up. See if it melts or gets soft. Don’t use your wife’s pans