Fiery Rotterode

This is a larger thunderegg from the Rotterode area, from the geology sometimes known under the name Koppenstein. This is good agate for the location since it is extremely prone to flaws, which are only more apparent because it is one of the few Thuringia locations where the agate is translucent. The formula of gently coloured agate and deep purple matrix is a special one that I’ve always had a soft spot for.

More Rotterode: Koppenstein thundereggs here: http://www.thundereggs.co.uk/germany/index_rotterode2.html

German Specimens from My Personal Collection

I have been sorting out my vast stock of rocks recently, aiming to sell off a lot of them and get back some kind of control of things.  I have been selling liberally over on the Thunderegg Shop Facebook Group – but this has also been a chance to look through all my specimens that are not yet on the gallery and decide which ones I would keep.  And then finally upload them!  These are the ones that really caught me, including some very unusual locations and some nice specimens of more familiar ones.  Below are some of my favourite ones.

See the whole German gallery here: http://www.thundereggs.co.uk/germany.html

Wieda Thunderegg – A Crisp Specimen From a Rare Location

Altersbach – Rarish Location Known for it’s Flaming Hydrothermal Agate.

Nesselhof Thunderegg – Candycane!

Nesselhof thunderegg – Deep Red

Drusenborn Thunderegg – Rarely Seen Solid Agate

Querbitzsch – a Beautiful Specimen of the White Ghosts of the Kaolin Mines

Waldeneck – The Classic Baden Baden Location

Gröppendorf – The ‘Other’ White Ghost of the Kaolin Mines

Brandtkopf

Hölle (Gehlberg) – one of the Quiet Relatives of the Famous Felsenschlag.

Oberhof – a Rare New Location from an Urban Building Site!

Spießberg ‘Rote Linie’ – an Unnamed Location in an area that is Being Revealed as Surprisingly Diverse.

 

 

 

New German Curiosities and Locations

Hirschfeld Gravel Pit Thunderegg with a Geology from the Mügeln Area

Hirschfeld Gravel Pit – a Somewhat Less Familiar Geology

A mystery thunderegg from the Zeithin Gravel Pit, because although we know where it was found, the geology that it originated from remains completely different from all known sources, in spite of various enquiries. One of the mysteries of the gravel pits that make them so interesting.

A rare complete specimen from Ochsendrehe, Saxony

Sermuth thunderegg – a very unusual new location from Saxony, Germany.

A few New Specimens

After a long quiet time, when I have mostly been engaged in selling off some of my huge stock of eggs, I have launched a few more specimens on the gallery.

Burgstall thunderegg with an unusual pseudomorph core.

A fine Dugway thunderegg with some very delicate agate.

A more complex Donnybrook thunderegg with a fair amount going on.

Ochs Ranch / Pony Creek thunderegg – a simple but rather sweet specimen.

A specimen from one of the rarely seen non-public beds on the Richardson Ranch – this one described as a rare and small location “close to the main road”.

Two New German Locations

Two interesting new locations have been uploaded to the gallery now.  I know very little about the first one, save that it is from the Thuringia Forest.  In appearance, it is substantially different to anything else I have seen from there.  This lcation is simply known as Wasch:

Wasch Thunderegg

Next up is a new Saxony location alongside the white ghosts of the kaolin pits – Börtewitz.  And it’s a specimen I am pretty much in love with!  The stones that I have seen from here are distinguished from the other locations (Querbitzsch, Gröppendorf etc.) by being much harder and heavier – a solid matrix that takes a shine.

Börtewitz Thunderegg

 

Some New German Specimens

I just managed to perform an update to the gallery, including some nice new German specimens.  The above is a Wendishain Thunderegg and definitely an improvement on what was there before.  One of my most prized saxonty specimens.  Here is another Wendishain spcimen:

Also uploaded is a tiny yet lovely specimen from the super-rare location Meisenstein – only the second I have ever seen:

A Seebachsfelsen thunderegg showcasing the most beautiful form the location can take, with green-tinged matrix and colourful banded agate.  This one could use reworking to get rid of the chips on the face, but is still a beautiful specimen:

And lastly, a few new specimens of the most ghostly of the white ghosts of the kaolin pits, Gröppendorf.  These stark white stones, less common than their cousin Querbitzsch, are starting to come across with a distinct identity of their own.

 

A Thunderegg that Changed Over Time

It’s one of my most prized thundereggs – a large Gottlob specimen from Germany with amethyst.  But also, this is one of the very few thundereggs I’ve ever seen that have changed over time.  When I first got it, about 5 years ago or thereabouts, I scanned it as usual and added it to my gallery:

However, over time, the agate lost its clarity – the colours brightened.  Preparing to sell it’s other half as part of a downsizing, I finally got round to imaging the rock a second time – again by scanner.  Side by side, the difference is quite dramatic.

German thundereggs are much older than most of the US specimens, yet this one transformed in just a few years after being dug up.  I have two shelves full of Gottlobs, but this is the only one to have transformed to anything close to this extent.  It’s still beautiful – maybe even more so.

 

Check out more Gottlobs here: http://www.thundereggs.co.uk/germany/index_Gottlob.html

Schmücke and Felsenschlag Thundereggs

Some new specimens from Schmücke, Thuringia, Germany – an area that is a very near neighbor of the famous Felsenschlag but considerably rarer.

For comparison, here is a new Felsenschlag specimen:

Click here to see the full gallery of Felsenschlags – almost fifty of them.

New German Specimens

A run-down of some new specimens recently uploaded to the gallery.

Rötelsteinpfad am Güdesweiler Thunderegg – an unusually large specimen for a location that is very often incomplete and damaged. 

Kniebreche – a super-rare location, unfortunately given how beautiful they can be. 

Another Kniebreche specimen.

New Location: Ravensberg Mountain

Located near Bad Sachsa, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) – a state that provides very few thundereggs compared to some of the others. These are a distinctive location, with beautiful flowbanding and thin bands of sometimes vivid red agate. I have now added a page of them on the gallery, and here are some of the best ones.