THE SNAKE HEAD

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=80 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="1d800500dvldtc.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Swordfish Mining:   Virgin Valley Opal</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Swordfish Mining: Virgin Valley Opal"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="black_precious_opal.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="BLACK OPALS">BLACK OPALS</A>   |   <A HREF="virgin_valley_precious_opal_mining_claims_from_the_miners_for_sale.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CLAIMS">CLAIMS</A>   |   <A HREF="opal_from_nevada.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PRECIOUS OPAL">PRECIOUS OPAL</A>   |   <A HREF="what_we_do.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="WIRE WRAPS, BEADS, JEWELRY">WIRE WRAPS, BEADS, & JEWELRY</A>   |   <A HREF="cut_stones__tops_gemstones_cut_for_years__these_stones_have_all_been_displayed_i.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="GEMSTONES">GEMSTONES</A>   |   <A HREF="opal_twigs.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LIMB CASTS">LIMB CASTS</A>   |   <A HREF="virgin_valley_wood_replacements.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PINE CONES BARK">PINE CONES & BARK</A>   |   <B>THE SNAKE HEAD</B>   |   <A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="GOODS">GOODS</A>   |   <A HREF="leah_and_john.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ABOUT US">ABOUT US</A>   |   <A HREF="picture_album.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SWORDFISH PICS">SWORDFISH PICS</A>   |   <A HREF="the_sheldon.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CHARLES SHELDON NWR">CHARLES SHELDON NWR</A>   |   <A HREF="numbers.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us">Contact Us</A>   |   <A HREF="map_to_virgin_valley_fee_digs.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Location">Location</A>   |   <A HREF="qa.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="QA">Q&A</A>   |   <A HREF="links_to_friendly_web_pages.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LINKS">LINKS</A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="045d2c00dvldtc.png"> <div> The Roebling opal in the Smithsonian Museum  Washington, D. C..<IMG SRC="151bdef0.jpg" border=0 width="189" height="239" ALT="Roebling Opal" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> 2665 cts Most  museum mineral displays in the world have Virgin Valley specimens. Countless fine stones have been set in jewelry since the Opal Rush back in 1906.  The Roebling was discovered on the "Rainbow Ridge" Mine.</div> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> THE SNAKE HEAD</div> <div> THE precious opal snake head cast. The head is preserved in glycerin but the body segment is dry and has not crazed. This came from a fee dig mine in 1992. That's one half that has been dry for 12 years. This cast is of straight up color white base precious opal with good multicolor play of fire. The outside rind, which was against the matrix and cast the skin, is of an airy contra luz in yellow green red flashes. Non experts don't believe it CAN be real but I have to pry it out of biologists hands. $20,000 for the only snake head cast ever found.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><IMG SRC="07cca580.png" border=0 width="458" height="344" ALT="Precious opal snake head cast" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <div>      <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFF00" FACE="Arial" >A CAT scan was un-conclusive to species as it was shot 90 degrees off optimum. Thanks anyway to the nuclear medicine department at Merle West Hospital in Klamath Falls, Or. for their help with scans. I'm still waiting for an expert to show up out here for a positive ID Certification that does not require me to loan it out for unknown periods of time into bad security situations. </FONT></div> <bR> <div>      The fossil was made with the tip of the chin above the last layer of opalization (belly up).  There is no visible internal structures replaced and the cast is of the surface features only. An expert who was forced to be anonymous surmised it was a shovel head snake that were fairly common then. He could not see internal structure in the 10 minutes he examining it outside a Dennys resturant. Not positive to species as there are no comparisons found or heard of yet.  Well we heard Mrs. Leaky found an agate replaced snake when digging in Africa.</div> <bR> <div> IT IS THE ONLY PRECIOUS OPAL REPLACEMENT OF A SNAKE HEAD EVER SEEN OR HEARD OF.   </div> <bR> <div>      This is 3 dimensional in precious gemstone. Serious principles and dealers only please. It's a natural gemstone serpent fossil that is truly ONE OF A KIND. It was in tailings on top of dust in July when found on private property. It is stable in a glycerin dome.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="10297800.png" border=0 width="407" height="384" ALT="gemstone snake" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFF00" FACE="Arial" >Bottom</FONT></div> <bR> <div> I know the snake symbol is used repeatedly in different religions but ........Have you any knowledge of any prophecy of a gemstone snake head being found at the end of the world? </div> <bR> <div> Note all text and photographs copyrights reserved by John Church.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> Republication not for gain is permitted with proper URL credit given.</div> <div>  </div> <div>  <img align=bottom src="http://www.thebook.com/cgi-bin/thebook/Counter1/Count.cgi?ft=0|tr=0|prgb=0;255;0|md=7|dd=B|st=333332|sh=1|df=virginvalleyopal_10_own.dat">  </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>