Highly prized by fossil, gem, and mineral collectors, Florida’s Coral specimens are in high demand due to the exquisite forms their fossilization produced. While Agatized Coral can be found in several places around the world, Florida’s specimens are considered the finest. Most Agatized Coral found have drab, boring, or completely solid interiors, which is what makes specimens like the ones found in this set exceptional.

This museum-grade specimen set is rarer than its usual counterparts. These pieces come together to form a geode- one half and two “lobes”. The surfaces of the Coral is lined with rich amber to delicate sand colored botryoidal structures resembling drips of wax from a well-used candelabra. The forms display varying degrees of luster and smoothness from the natural erosion from the river it remained in over the course of millions of years.

Most of the Agatized Coral found in Florida hail from the Oligocene period 38 million years ago. In 1979, the Florida State Legislator made this coral the state stone due to it being indigenous to Florida. These Corals were simple marine invertebrates who used the calcium carbonate found in their prey to form dense outer skeletons. Their stomach cavities contained complex folds to help their digestion process, and is what forms the wonderful detail we see in these Agate fossil specimens.