W031 / Oregon

Pony Butte thunderegg

Moss-bearing volcanic thunderegg; locality/trade label

Collector emphasizes elaborate moss and streamer structures. Treat this as a comparison tendency from his examples, not a uniquely diagnostic feature.

← Western Lapidary Materials
Verified reference photograph pending

What it is

Moss-bearing volcanic thunderegg; locality/trade label

What to look for

Collector emphasizes elaborate moss and streamer structures. Treat this as a comparison tendency from his examples, not a uniquely diagnostic feature.

At the cutting bench

Streamer/moss pattern placement may guide cuts, but fractures and voids control actual yield. No measured deposit-specific polish or yield data.

Under the loupe

Richardson and Priday eggs overlap. Do not merge Pony Butte into Blue because a historic bibliography lists them together; modern collector labels distinguish them. Lower Hole/Testhole is another label, not an automatic synonym.

Source & collecting access

Ranch public-digging closure is not an access ruling for every Pony Butte parcel. Parcel-specific legal access and 2026 extraction UNKNOWN.

Status checked 2026-10-01

The market notebook

See separated asking/status evidence; no verified realized-price range.

Market researched 2026-10-01

Open the field notes

Color comparison tags

UNKNOWN — reliable color coverage not yet established. Bed names are not color observations.

Geology & evidence limits

Collector locates the material across a ranch boundary; precise geology and bed limits UNKNOWN. No mapped stratigraphic equivalence established here.

Collecting & trade history

Modern collection gallery distinguishes Pony Butte, Lower Hole and named Richardson beds. Preserve label date and exact wording to interpret conflicting historical names.

Reading old-stock material

Preserve original labels, receipts, packaging and associated pieces. Old-stock age does not authenticate a locality or justify a rarity premium.

How to read the color tags

Unassigned pending actual representative-image review. Bed/name wording is not a color observation.

Still unresolved

Licensed examples including rough and sliced material; Independent parcel/bed boundaries; Historic-modern crosswalk; Verified color coverage and prices

What we know—and what we don’t

Visual resemblance is a comparison clue, not proof of material identity, locality or documented provenance. Keep source labels and estate records separate from your visual assessment.

C&C Reference Collection

Reference photograph pending. Do not substitute an unlicensed dealer image or a similar-looking specimen of uncertain identity.

Sources & Further Reading
  1. University of Nebraska–Lincoln historical agate database

    Historical specimen-label/bibliography evidence; not current access or image permission

  2. Richardson’s Rock Ranch operator site

    Operator evidence, not production audit. Bed labels must remain distinct; closure is not exhaustion.

  3. Eibonvale / David Rix Jefferson County specimen gallery

    Collector label evidence; not surveyed bed boundaries or definitive numbered-bed crosswalk. Images copyright, no reuse grant found.

  4. Eibonvale / David Rix: Pony Butte

    Collector examples and labels, not independent geology or access. No image license found.

Cut and polish with appropriate wet methods and silica-dust controls. Historic directions and mine names are not current permission to collect.