We have printable id cards for the stones that can be and have been found in the buckets at the Pigeon Forge Gem Mine. Not all the stones on the list can be found in every bucket, in fact some of are from buckets of the past. We have included them because we feel some of you still have those stones and would like to have the cards to id them.
We will be adding new stones to the list when we get them.
Sometimes you will here a stone called by several names. You wonder what is the correct name. Sometimes it will be called one thing by the miner and somthing else by the Assayer - when this happens blame it on light - the Assayers have specal lights that help them in idenifiying the stones. But sometimes a stone will have more than one name.
Smoky Quartz - Smoky Topaz, Smoky Mountain Topaz....at one time Smoky Quartz was though to be a form of Topaz, today we know it isn't, but we will still see most cut Smoky Quartz called Smoky Topaz.
Moss Agate - Tree Agate, Dendrite Chalcedony.....Dendrite Chalcedony is the correct name, and it comes in two types a white stone with green on it and a baige stone with black fern like markings. Usally the white with green is called Moss Agate and the other Tree Agate, but both books and people will interchange the two.
Pyrite - Iron Pyrite, Fools Gold.....some people and books will use the Iron to tell what type of pyrite and fools gold came from the fact that many early miners would mistake it for real Gold
Chalcopyrite - Peacock Pyrite, Copper Pyrite, Fools Gold, Peacock Ore....This is an Copper ore and like Pyrite was a Fools Gold, but when it tarnishes it turns color giving it the peacock pyrite or peacock ore name. (Bomite, another copper ore is also known as Peacock ore)
