Adult Door Prizes
#1 Pendant created by artist Marv Dahmen. Valued at $55 (I think it might be more valuable than that -ed.)
#2 Polychrome jasper from Madagascar. 6 1/2″ tall and weighing 5 1/2 lb. Valued at $100
#3 Large trilobite from Morocco. 16″ long. Valued at $250
Kids’ Door Prizes
#1 Bismuth specimen. 2 1/2″ X 2 1/2″.
Valued at $65
#2 Sphalerite and marcasite specimen from Potosi, MO. 6″ X 7″. Valued at $75
#3 Rock Tumbler. Valued at $60
In November 2016, we went to see Marv Dahmen’s collection of vintage Joplin/Tri-State mining equipment and minerals. He talked about it for 5 hours but there was never a dull moment. We managed to record some of it, although it was so long Stephanie and David ran out of space on their phones. Here are some photos.
Everyone listening to Marv. Photo by Stephanie Reed
Ore buckets as far as the eye can see! Photo by David Reed
Ore crusher. Photo by Stephanie Reed
Most of the things outside are from the Picher Museum. Photo by Stephanie Reed
Ore buckets, a crucible, and one of the only 2 remaining drill bit buckets. They were sold for scrap metal when the Picher Museum was having hard times. Marv got them from the scrap metal place. Photo by Stephanie Reed
This is not an ore bucket. This is a dewatering bucket. Photo by Stephanie Reed
The inside of a dewatering bucket has a plunger inside. Photo by Stephanie Reed
A drill. Photo by David Reed
Photo by David Reed
Calcium carbide and some lamps. Photo by David Reed
These long scoops are used to clean out the holes before putting in the dynamite. If you hit some debris while loading the dynamite it might explode. Photo by David Reed
Wooden paddles for opening boxes of dynamite. It is too dangerous to use a metal implement. Photo by David Reed
Lamps, containers of carbide, and mortars and pestles. Photo by David Reed
An impressive display of blasting caps. Photo by Stephanie Reed
Guy’s dropper lamps. These were used before carbide lamps were invented. Photo by Stephanie Reed
Marv in his workshop. On the table are some slabs that will soon be cut into cabs, and there is a curved plate that can be coated with ink and used to label boxes of Hercules dynamite (with removable plates for dates, lot numbers, etc.). Bucyrus Erie is a mining equipment company. Photo by David Reed
Marv also makes jewelry. Photo by David Reed
Some of his freshly tumbled rocks. Photo by David Reed
Part of Marv’s rock collection. Photo by David Reed
Lots of Owyhee Jasper from Oregon and Idaho. Photo by David Reed
A device for crimping blasting caps. It is extremely rare. Photo by David Reed
This is a pigtail, which is a blacksmith-made hook for ore buckets. It is specially curved so that the bucket won’t fall off while it is being raised up. Photo by David Reed
Thank you Marv for inviting us on your property and into your home to see your amazing collection!
Photo by Edward Allen Gems at http://edwardallengems.com/slabs-stone_canyon.php
Jasper and agates are both a type of quartz known as chalcedony. So it makes perfect sense that sometimes you can find jasper and agate melded together, like so. Agates are usually transparent or translucent, and jasper is usually opaque, but this isn’t a hard and fast rule. Sometimes it’s very difficult to tell the difference between agate and jasper, in which case people may call it chalcedony, agate jasper, or jaspagate. It is mostly found in the American Southwest and California, like other agates and chalcedonies. The one pictured was found near the San Andreas Fault.
Show-Me Rockhounds Kansas City 