Fake Trinitite

Most of us are familiar with Trinitite, formed by the first nuclear blast at the Trinity site in Alamogordo, NM. Trinitite has been confirmed to be nearly pure melted silica with traces of Olivine, Feldspar, and other minerals which comprise the desert sand. This material has always been a curiosity for collectors and even more so in recent years. While Trinitite was once common, it is now quite rare and has become relatively expensive and is sold by the gram. Go figure.... Because of unethical activities by some money grubbers, I wrote an editorial about Fake Trinitite some time ago. I will attach it below, but I first must make a preemptive statement regarding this. That is, there are several ethical, bonafide dealers that offer authentic material for sale and this editorial in no way implicates them.

Editorial by Eugene Cisneros

It's a sad commentary, but true. Some unethical people have been selling fake Trinitite on the web and online auctions. We were recently offered some of this material as well. If it's too green, too translucent or too inexpensive to be true, it probably isn't real Trinitite! So how does the collector know if a specimen is authentic? Well, usually the only means for the collector to eliminate the fake stuff is to use a sensitive dosimeter and take a reading to verify that residual induced radiation exists. This will be very small, but it can be detected. This will not rule out the possibility that clever fakers will not add some small amount of weakly radioactive material to their formula. The only way to be 100% certain of authenticity is by means of nuclear energy spectroscopy. I have worked under contract of the Department of Energy, at a national laboratory, for the past 37 years and have the resources to perform these tests. Thus, we at Mineralogical Research Company can assure you of the authenticity of all of the Trinitie specimens that we make available to you - - - we guarantee our specimens 100%.

The energy spectra, below, shows the radioactive isotope Cesium 137 photopeak at ~666 keV. This radionuclide has a half life of 30.2 years and is one of several unique byproducts of nuclear fission or atomic detonations. It is present in all authentic Trinitite specimens.

Hi,

Do you have a picture of any fake pieces? I took a whole bunch of REAL trinitite and put it into some muratic acid and the end result was some very pretty brighter green material. I would love to see some pictures of what people are trying to pass off as fake...

I lived near the site,..but have never seen any. (actually,.. I saw pieces as a child,but have no memory of the trinitite)So, im now wondering if there is much,.. still in new mexico?..and like Justin, would like to see the fakes.That way I can be shure.I am wondering just how far the glass occured,I have a guess, also, I am curious of what other minerals were effected by the blast, if any?

Lachrisha, doesn't the store in Bingham have it for sale? The fluorite mine tours are well worth the trip up there...

Pics or it didn't happen.

=)

Yes, Allison still has a pretty good supply (or did a couple of years ago) at the "Blanchard Rock Shop" in Bingham....it was kinda pricey, but who am I to judge? I know it's authentic because it is from the remains of the stock that existed in the shop when Allison bought the shop & property. Some that stock can date to the mid forties!! Sam Jones was the original operator (under the watchful eye of Mrs. Blanchard!!)

Don S.

Funny little story about fake trinitite; my wife and I were vacationing in Ruidoso when while walking in town we decided to stop into a little rockshop (I know the name, but won't mention it here). While we were looking around there was sign for "naturally occurring trinitite" from New Mexico. We looked at it for while and laughed and at that moment the young lady from behind the counter came over and asked if we needed any help. We asked her about the trinitite and she replied something to the effect of "I know nothing of minerals, I only sell them" (typical response I have discovered among most mineral dealers). We told her there was no such thing which prompted the owner to come out ask if we needed help at which time we told him, thinking that we were being nice, that trinitite is not naturally occurring. He then promptly told us that he was an oilfield geologist in the Permian Basin for 30 years and us "kids" didn't know what we were talking about; wrong answer to two geologists!! I believe we replied by asking when the next atomic bomb was going off so he could collect more. The owner then asked us to leave and quit harassing the customers or he'd call the police and have us removed; such a nice welcome into the mineral world, but we have since laughed it off.... B)

I remember the last time I was out at the Trinity Site, there wasn't a lot left laying on the ground, but I did manage to find a few little pieces here and there. If you get the chance to go out there (first Saturday in April and October), there is about a 6 ft by 12 ft covered area with glass that is an untampered patch of trinitite that allows people to see what the ground looked like after the blast. The last time I stopped at the Blanchard Rock Shop, Allison still had a fair amount of "real" trinitite for sale. I thought the prices were fair considering no more is being made. If your in the Socorro area, you may want to drive out west to Magdalena and stop at Bill's Rock Shop. It too had trinitite the last time I stopped in and talked with Helen Dobson. I believe the mineral museum on the New Mexico Tech campus also has trinitite from time to time as well.

Justin,

No pics, so I guess it didn't happen. It didn't happen that I was ignorant enough to buy it, that is. ;)

Attached are some pic of real Trinitite for anyone who is interested.

Gene

I would never buy 'trinitite' unless I checked it with a radiation survey meter of some sort first (at the very least). It's easy to make sandy, green glass, and not too difficult to also make it radioactive. It's getting the particle energy to be right that's the hard thing.

Sadly, the untampered patch of Trinitite is no longer of much interest to the general public It is still protected by a low structure, but no entrance allowed and no windows for viewing! I also saw a piece or two of Trinitite still left at the site, but they are VERY serious about the fact that it is the theft of US government property to pocket any.

I was in the little shop that Allison ran, with the material on display. I had no interest in owning any, and still don't...but it was worth seeing. I had heard, on the rumour mill, that Allison isn't there anymore? Does anyone know?
We went up to the Blanchard Mine and spent a great day finding fluorite, galena, linarite and drusy quartz.

To the originator of this post, thank you for your warnings!

Gail Patricia Copus Spann

Allison is still around, running the shop. She had just been spending a little time in CA. Maybe she was getting
tired of the green chile cheeseburgers in San Antonio, NM.

RE: green chile cheeseburgers......Outpost in Carrizozo beats both the Owl & the other place in San Antonio (don't remember the name). Only disadvantage is that San Antonio is considerably closer to Socorro!! Allison used to say that she was just a "couple of miles from the middle of nowhere"......almost half way between San Antonio and Carrizozo.

I am glad Allison is still there, she is truly a fun part of the whole experience.

I am sorry to hear that Ray DeMark's wife, Judy, just passed away. Ray is one of the owners of the Bingham mine.
Judy was a very outspoken, delightful character and I will miss her greatly.

Gail Patricia Copus Spann

Hello I have a 5 lb lump that was given to me by an ex Nasa director. He said he picked it up from the site it is a heavy red and black piece. what would be the best way to check it for legitimacy.

If you posted a clear picture here I'm sure one or more of the posters above could probably give you a fairly confident yes or no.

In the museum here at White Sands, we actually have a few pieces of reddish-colored trinitite. Story goes that these were from closer to the tower so had more iron in them - cannot really vouch for that, but we have several boxes of the stuff (mainly green) that we use for exhibit material when needed.

Darren

p.s. - have never seen black, and you have to be careful, as there is stuff floating around out there from the Nevada test site, as well as various missile tests, that is claimed to be trinitite. Post your photo, would love to see it!

Hello all, I got some trinitite at a little rockshop outside ruidoso this spring, it was well documented and checked out with my scintillation RA detector.
I had it in a little plastic bag on a high shelf in my apartment. Secured well or so I thought. I have a cat that likes to steal small plastic bags. This morning my trinitite is missing. I searched for an hour but fear that kitty hid it from me. That cat likes to chew plastic bags. I am very concerned - apart from hunting the apartment with the Ludlum detector does anyone have any suggestions? Especially for how to treat my cat.

JessS Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ...does anyone
> have any suggestions? Especially for how to treat
> my cat....

Please don't feed the trolls!

I'm afraid it may already be too late for your cat, it may already have developed superpowers.