-2Days
-3Hours
-45Minutes
-40Seconds
ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show
Most Recent Post
- Mazon Monday #314: Happy 60th Birthday, Tully Monster!
Happy 60th Birthday to the Tully Monster! Well, actually tomorrow is the day. And, I guess technically it’s really been 307 – 309 million years, but who’s really counting. Eugene Richardson, Jr., who first called it “Mr. Tully’s monster”, described the animal in the paper “Pennsylvanian invertebrates of the Mazon Creek Area, Illinois: the morphology and affinities of Tullimonstrum”, which was published on March 24th, 1966 in the journal Fieldiana.
- About ESCONI
- Around the Web
- Calendar of Events
- Code of Ethics and Conduct
- ESCONI Books for Sale
- ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show
- ESCONI in the News
- ESCONI Videos
- Field Trips
- Flashback Friday
- Fossil Friday
- Mazon Creek
- Mazon Monday
- Member Spotlight
- Membership Information
- Reference Material
- Throwback Thursday
- Trilobite Tuesday
Field trips require membership, but visitors are welcome at all meetings!
| Friday, March 13th | General Meeting – 8:00 PM via Zoom. Jeffrey Amelse will be presenting “Archaeological, Geological, and Other Historic Sites in Portugal.” |
| Saturday, March 14th | Field Trip – “Escape the Excavation: A hands-on archaeological adventure” – College of DuPage, 1pm – 3pm. Details here. |
| Saturday, March 21st | 66th ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show at the DuPage County Fairgrounds. Details here. |
| Sunday, March 22nd | 66th ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show at the DuPage County Fairgrounds. Details here. |
| No meeting this month | Mineralogy Study Group |
| No meeting this month | Paleontology Study Group |
| No meeting this month | Junior Study Group |
-
Mazon Monday #314: Happy 60th Birthday, Tully Monster!
Read more: Mazon Monday #314: Happy 60th Birthday, Tully Monster!Happy 60th Birthday to the Tully Monster! Well, actually tomorrow is the day. And, I guess technically it’s really been 307 – 309 million years, but who’s really counting. Eugene Richardson, Jr., who first called it “Mr. Tully’s monster”, described the animal in the paper “Pennsylvanian invertebrates of the Mazon Creek Area, Illinois: the morphology and affinities of Tullimonstrum”, which was published on March 24th, 1966 in the journal Fieldiana.
-
Live Auction Items For Sunday
Read more: Live Auction Items For SundayHere are the live auction on Sunday, March 22nd at 11:30.
-
Scenes from Day 1 of the 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show
Read more: Scenes from Day 1 of the 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil ShowWe had a great day today at the 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. Hopefully, you were able to join us. We had more attendees at day 1 than we had for both days last year! There were great friends and great times… it’s always fun to catch up with everyone! There were great things to buy at the 20+ vendors at this years show. We had some great auctions, both live and silent… hopefully, you were able to win something beautiful. And, there was great weather… how can you beat 80 degrees in March?!?
-
ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Auction Items
Read more: ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Auction ItemsHere are the Live Auction Items.
-
Today is the Day! ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show!
Read more: Today is the Day! ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show!Here are some scenes from the show setup… just 2 hours to showtime!
-
2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #40: Mazon Creek Asterophyllites and a Sphenopterid in a Riker Mount
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #40: Mazon Creek Asterophyllites and a Sphenopterid in a Riker MountLast preview… a Riker Mount with a Mazon Creek Asterophyllites and a Sphenopterid… both are beautiful fossils. Today is the day… come out at 10 AM and see all the auction items for yourself!
-
2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #39: Fluorite and Sphalerite
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #39: Fluorite and SphaleriteOne last chunk of beautiful fluorite… nice purple crystals on a bed of sphalerite. Sounds and looks tasty! If you are up this late (or is that early), you deserve a tasty preview… just a few hours until the show starts!
-
2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #38: Reticulopteris munsterii var. dawsonii from Mazon Creek
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #38: Reticulopteris munsterii var. dawsonii from Mazon CreekHow about another Mazon Creek seed fern? This one is Neuropteris jacksonii (see Mazon Monday #250). If you are reading this… today is the day!
-
2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #37: Alethopteris serlii from St. Clair, Pennsylvania
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #37: Alethopteris serlii from St. Clair, PennsylvaniaThis preview is of a chunk of shale from St. Clair, PA. This piece contains numerous examples of Alethopteris serlii, a seed fern also found in Mazon Creek localities. We are getting very close now… inside 12 hours away!
-
2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #36: Purple Fluorite from Cave-in-Rock, IL
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #36: Purple Fluorite from Cave-in-Rock, ILHere’s yet another beautiful chunk of fluorite from Illinois. This one is purple and was collected from Cave-in-Rock, IL. many years ago. Come and see it tomorrow… less than a day away!
-
2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #35: Priscacara, sp. from the Green River Formation in Wyoming
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #35: Priscacara, sp. from the Green River Formation in WyomingWhat fossil show is complete without a Green River fish? Here is a nice Priscacara, sp. These fish date to the Eocene, about 50 million years ago. We have other Green River fish, come on out and see them!
-
2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #34: Giant Moroccan Trilobite
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #34: Giant Moroccan TrilobiteHow about a giant Moroccan trilobite for something different? Come on out… we will have other trilobites at the show.
-
2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #33: Laveineopteris rarinervis from Mazon Creek
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #33: Laveineopteris rarinervis from Mazon CreekThis is a beautiful specimen of Laveineopteris rarinervis (see Mazon Monday #81) a seed fern commonly found in the Mazon Creek fossil deposit. Come on out and check it out tomorrow!
-
2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #32: Calcite from Ourey, Colorado
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #32: Calcite from Ourey, ColoradoTime for another beautiful mineral specimen. This is calcite from Ourey, Colorado. Come on out tomorrow… there is something for everyone!
-
2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #30: Mazon Creek Achistrum, sp. Colony
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #30: Mazon Creek Achistrum, sp. ColonyAnother Mazon Creek beauty… this is a nice Achistrum, sp. colony, which is a sea cucumber. You can see at least three mouths in the fossil. See Mazon Monday #29. Come on out and see for yourself, tomorrow, yes, tomorrow! Less than a day away!
-
2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #31: Crinoid Plate from the Bangor Formation in Northern Alabama
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #31: Crinoid Plate from the Bangor Formation in Northern AlabamaAnother crinoid plate from the Bangor Formation in Northern Alabama. This plate has multiple crinoids and other fossils like Archimedes bryozoans. Tomorrow is the day!
-
2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #29: Crystalline Copper from Southwest Africa
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #29: Crystalline Copper from Southwest AfricaThis chunk of crystalline copper is from southwest Africa. Tomorrow is the day!
-
2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #28: Coelocanth Scale from Pit 11
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #28: Coelocanth Scale from Pit 11Here’s beautiful example of a Coelocanth scale Mazon Creek’s Pit 11 locality. Look closely, the preservation is very detailed. Did we mention the tomorrow is the show… see you there!
-
2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #27: Rare Wisconsin Jellyfish from Marathon County, Wisconsin
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #27: Rare Wisconsin Jellyfish from Marathon County, WisconsinJellyfish, which have no hard parts, are very rare in the fossil record. This species Hiemalora stellaris was found in the Cambrian rocks of the Blackberry Hill Deposit of Marathon County, Wisconsin. Come on out tomorrow and it can be yours!
-
2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #26: Azurite from the Daye District, Ezhou Prefecture, Hubei Province, China
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #26: Azurite from the Daye District, Ezhou Prefecture, Hubei Province, ChinaWhat a beautiful blue! The specimen of Azurite hails from the Daye District, Ezhou Prefecture, Hubei Province, China. Less than a day until the door open!