Description
The rarest things on Earth were formed by the most ordinary processes, repeated for eons. Mazon Creek concretions — iron-carbonate nodules from Carboniferous coal measures — have yielded some of the most diverse fossil flora on Earth. Crack one open and find a perfect fern frond, preserved in three dimensions, from a coal swamp 309 million years ago. This specimen predates the dinosaurs by 75 million years. Carboniferous forests built the coal we burned for the industrial revolution.
This specimen originates from Mazon Creek Formation, Illinois, USA, one of the world’s most significant localities for this type of material. Collectors and scientists have drawn from this region for generations, and for good reason: the combination of geological conditions here produces specimens of exceptional quality and clarity.
Every specimen is unique. Photographs approximate the visual experience, but the real thing — its weight, its luster under a raking light, the way it catches the corner of your eye — can only be experienced directly.
