Need help pricing my geode

I've been holding on to this geode for well over 10 years, and It's been sitting in a display cabinet the entire time, untouched by human hands except to blow dust off of it. I know that it's an impeccable specimen, but I have no idea how much it's worth, and have been unable to find anyone able to tell me the value of a specimen like this. Please help!

Attached are 2 photos I took.

Also, here is some additional information about it:

- The outside of the geode measures 5" across, and 5.5" top to bottom.

- The inside of the geode measures 3" across, and 3.5" top to bottom.

- The clear crystal measures between 3/4" and 1".


Once again, please help!
-Alan

By the way, I forgot to mention that it's a Smoky Quartz geode with a clear Calcite crystal.

It's nice for what it is, but what it is is not particularly rare of valuable. My retail price (depending upon the specimen's locality) would be maybe twenty to thirty dollars.

Weight would help- as I buy almost everything by the pound and can give you a pretty accurate estimate (USD) with a weight.

Twenty to thirty dollars is a decent estimate. You can try to sell it for more. Depends if the customer loves calcite crystals or not I think.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

The man who cracked open my geode offered me $400 on the spot for it. Now I don't know what to think.

I'll weigh it and get back to you.

$400! You should have taken the offer.

Some geode zealots might price a geode higher than the market might otherwise command. I've seen similar pricing with just about any mineral you want, given the right zealot.

wow 400$ I would have sold that thing on the spot at half of that offer.

Sometimes the people who pop the geodes open with those big pipe cutters know they can offer almost any price for the geode and experience has show that the people who bought the geode will never take them up on their offer because they don't know anything about the actual value of what it is they have, and will assume automatically that if he is offering $400 for it on the spot, it must be worth a lot more. Look at your receipt and call him up and tell him you will take him up on his offer.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

The main thing to me is that if you look around on the internet there are very few geodes with clear calcite crystals. There are plenty that have dull white crystals, from what I've seen, but I have only seen 1 other geode with clear calcite on the internet, and it was described as "very rare". This is because the calcite crystals become dull and become less transparent when exposed to the oils on human hands, or something like that.

I understand that the raw mineral value of this geode is low. However, the calcite crystal is suspended on a natural pedestal and is also transparent, as if to show off. Does the transparency of the calcite and the naturally picturesque calcite formation add any value?

Yes, the scepter calcite adds value- not $400.00 worth, but there is some added value. Again, without a total weight I won't chime in on a dollar amount.

Sure that adds to the value....thats what would take it up to Rock's high end....maybe ten or fifteen more...but CERTAINLY not $400.

$40-$56 is what I would say

I have a geode that my dads brother gave to him a long time ago but I'm pretty sure it is still the largest geode found in North America my dad put it in the dallas museum of nature and science in 1991-1996 and he took it back they quoted him a price of 5,000 but he declined that offer because we know it's worth alot more than that. I have a pretty good idea of how much I want to sell it for but I'm not completely sure it is aproxametly 3 foot wide and 2.5 foot tall made out of sand stone the inside is aproxametly 1 foot top to bottom 1.5 foot front to back. I will be able to put pictures up this afternoon.

I wouldn't say more than $40 tops

Kaleb,
If you would like the people in this forum to give you an estimate of the value of your fathers geode you will have to show us a picture or three and perhaps answer a few questions as well.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

Agree with both Jolyon and Rock; without more info and pix no educated discussion is possible. In Indiana we have several 3-4'+ geodes that weigh more than 350# at Indiana University and the Indiana State Museum so TRUE geodes can get very large in this state, but they have little collector value and get displayed only in museums and university geology department hallways or office lobbies etc. They are NEVER Pretty inside and rarely hollow. Many other geode like concretions also occur and these are not TRUE geodes at all.

I have 2 round geo's approximately 24'' around, I'm looking to possible sell them. Would you guys recommend opening them first, if so any recommendations in Colorado area.. Thanks new to this, also any idea what them might be worth? Thanks