Shefflers Geode mine?

[willis7]

has anybody been to Shefflers geode mine, I'm thinking about taking a week end and going there but would like first hand input if the place first

 

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[willis7]

or the crater of diamonds national park?

 

[BurntBear]

Is this the place you're talking about?

Keokuk Geode Information Page - The Geode Gallery

If it is, I'd suggest going! -Luke

 

[willis7]

yes it is! have you been?

 

[BurntBear]

I haven't been there personally, but I read through the page that I posted a link to above and there some amazing specimens! Definitely worth checking out! -Luke

 

[willis7]

ok cool I'm going to keep looking into it right now it's a tie between that and diamond crater in Arkansas, I have until next summer to decide

 

[New Orleans Relic]

There are four places in the Keokuk- Hamilton area to collect fine quality geodes. Shefflers, St. Francisville, Jacobs and the Fox river. Probably all in a 20-30 mile radius. I've gone to the geode festival (late September) in Hamilton Ill. across the Mississippi river from Keokuk Ia. the last three years now. Jacobs has many small golfball size geodes there. Small but very good quality and easy to get.
St Francisville has the larger ones. Not easy but many are over a hundred pounds. I personally prefer the Fox river. The lower the river level the better. Just walk the river bank. They are different sizes all over the place. Some you can pick up, some partially exposed, you may need to dig. Summer heat can be brutal and the river is refreshing to wade in, but watch for snakes and poison ivy. Didn't do well at Sheffler twice. Except for St. Francisville, landowners charge $20 per 5 gallon bucket. St. Francisville gets an extra .55 cents a pound. That can be expensive! None allow on sight cracking.
Google "first cracked geodes". They are the club that host the festival. Website could be better.
Unless its a family thing, I wouldn't consider the diamond mine. Perhaps fun for the novice, but not fruitful. Go an hour or so north to the Hot Springs area for some clear quartz crystals. Most mines are $20 a day for all you can take. I'll be there next month.
Enjoy, Ray

 

[Tigger]

we've had a recent thread about the Diamond State Park - you can probably find it in this forum. This link is NOT it, but has good pix of the site.(http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/my-daily-snapshot/268452-crater-diamonds-state-park.html)

It is a fun place, but if you're going to make money, buy a lottery ticket. If you like jasper and other pretty rocks as consolation prizes, go, have fun! We did.

 

[huntsman53]

I don't know anything about the Geode Mines you mentioned but I would recommend Coleman's Quartz Mines over the Crater of Diamonds State Park! You can find some Gem quality Quartz specimens at Coleman's Quartz Mines and also some Geodes. The only draw back to finding Quartz Geodes at Coleman's, is that to take them, you must be able to carry them out intact. In other words, you can't bust them up to carry them out in pieces! A friend (Rocky who has since passed) and myself were there in October of 1996 after spending 3 unsuccessful days at the Crater of Diamonds State Park and which was shortly after a gentleman supposedly found a Quartz Geode that was 5 or 6 feet tall and about 4 feet in diameter (we never saw it, just heard the story) there. It could not be carried out and since they won't allow you to bust them up, he had to leave it behind and Coleman's benefited from the find as I am sure that they removed the Geode later that day, took it to their' Rock shop, cut it in half into Quartz Geode Cathedrals and then placed them in their' shop for sale. We were there right when the Season was winding down and purchased 8 baskets of Gem quality Quartz Crystals and got them at discount of $22 a basket since Rocky was a Gemologist and Geologist and had a Business License. One basket was mine and the other 7 were Rocky's which he cleaned up with Muriatic Acid then resold for around $250 a basket. If you purchase any of their' Gem quality Quartz Crystal baskets, make sure that you find some with very large and clear Crystals and some that have many twinned Crystals as these sell the best. We ended up with many Crystals in the 5 to 10 inch length range that were 3 to 5 inches in diameter and we even got some really nice twins. I misplaced one twinned Crystal specimen that had a Crystal that had grown inside of another Crystal and which is very valuable. One of these days, I hope to find it!


Frank

 

[New Orleans Relic]

Frank
I have been to both Jim and Ron Coleman mines perhaps 6-8 times in the last 4 years and have never heard of geodes in the area. Greer's Ferry Lake in northern Arkansas does produce some druse quartz, smaller (golf ball to tennis ball) size geodes. Weathered by carbonate rocks and residuum along the lake. And do support Arkansas geology. Interesting though! I'll be returning in three weeks. Will enquire.
Ray

 

[willis7]

I'm loving these ideas! thank you everyone