Copper Agates

Copper Replacement Agates

Copper Agates have stunned Agate Collectors for decades. Their pure Copper banding alternating with chalcedony creates a magnificent display. Their discovery was founded by John and Frank Perona back in 1951. The secrecy of these stones were kept until the mid 90s. Now the word is out and the most prestigious collectors are seeking out the very best examples. 

Copper Replacement Agates are a mysterious variety of Agate. It's dually noted that the entirety of how agates form is mostly theory. Copper Replacement Agate stretches those theories even further. 

These agates can seem to have an endless array of formations and inclusions that can be associated with their development. Many other minerals can be found in the banding of the copper and chalcedony.  These extra characteristics that change out these agates look make them even more collectable. 

We here at Wild Superior Gems we go out and dig for these agates. The amount of work and time required to find the best examples is one of the biggest reasons these stones are so rare. Also the piles are bulldozed and ground up for gravel making them even more difficult to find.

One of the biggest problems with these stones is extracting them from their extremely hard Basalt Amygdaloid home. Most agates don't survive the extraction. Most Copper Agates are cracked beyond repair either by the original  blasting of the stones, being moved around by bulldozers and extraction.

The rarest variety of Copper Replacement Agates are the pure copper replacement. This means that most of the agate was replaced by copper. If not ground down properly, the pattern will never be seen. These are so rare, that I personally have only found three out of the 10 plus years we've dug for these stones. The second rarest variety of these stones are the Copper Replacement Agate with banding and eyes. The more common of the Copper Replacement Agates (which are still very rare) are agates with copper inclusions.

In conclusion, Copper Replacement Agates are some of the most beautiful, unique agates. Any serious agate collector needs one of these rare stones to complete their collection. These stones are becoming more rare as the years go by since the available material to dig through is becoming more scarce. To find virgin ground requires incredible patience and work.

The stones you find on our site are the best and have taken us over a decade to collect. We are finally letting go all of our best gems. This is your chance to be apart of history and own one of the rarest agates on the planet.