Welcome to opalholicsanonymous.com where opal season lasts forever.

There are some who would say that I'm obsessed with Fairburn agates. They would be right. What's not to love about this beautiful stone ?
I found my first Fairburn (a chip really) while on vacation with my inlaws back in 1993.

The stone that started it all.


Since this first little piece my collection has grown to more than 100 stones. Some found, some bought, some traded for and a few were gifts.
I'll begin by sharing a few of them. Over the next few days I'll add more .

If anyone has Fairburns that they would like to share with the group, please feel free to add them to this thread.

The first is known as a Frogskin Fairburn, because almost the whole surface is covered with patterns.




And now some more. First a black & white. A fairly rare combination of colors in Fairburns.






Ghost Fairburn. So named because of the clear and white alternating fortifications.


A signer. So named because it only shows signs on the surface of being a Fairburn.






Full Face. (It shows the whole pattern without any missing areas).






An ugly one. Most show their beauty with only a good cleaning. This one will need surface polishing, or possibly cutting.


Coffee break. I'll add more later.

Often when found Fairburns are badly tarnished. To clean them I have 2 small crock pots with the lift out ceramic liners. (Gotta love yard sale finds).
For cleaning I use Super Iron out in one crock pot. I set the pot on the warming setting and let the Fairburns cook over night. After soaking the rocks in clean, cold water with several changes they go into the second pot which contains mineral oil. A couple hours on medium heat is all that's needed. I let the rocks drain on a screen over the pot, so I can catch & reuse the oil. After draining, the rocks are buffed with a clean, lint free cloth. They're usually ready for display.

Before cleaning & oiling.


After cleaning & oil soak. This specimen will need further work with a soda blaster.

Once in a while Fairburns only show a thin band of fortifications. Both sides shown.





And more Fairburns.










And for Jan, the guardian of the Fairburns.


More later. Time for a Big Mac & Fries.

That last agate looks alot like a Jack Russel

That's a lot of fairburns .

And More Fairburns.

And still more Fairburns.



























Are ya sick of Fairburns yet ?

Nope, not at all. There sure seems to be a lot of variety in the Fairburns.

Lydia, there's an unbelievable number of color combinations in Fairburns. Different collecting areas seem to produce their own combinations. Sometimes several different combinations from the same area. Also, certain colors or combinations of colors are very rare. Anything with orange fortifications is highly sought after & rare. The so called Ghost Agates in white & clear fortifications are rare, as is the combination of black & white
Fortifications. There are others equally as rare.

The prize in my collection. Purchased from a friend who found it in a load of gravel for his driveway. It's not unheard of to find Fairburns in gravel coming from the Cheyenne River. But to find both halves of an agate which was broken by nature no telling how many years ago, and to find them both in a single load of gravel. What are the odds ? Tho not a large Fairburn, these matching halves have a value in excess of $200.00.