Hi community! I have a somewhat absurd but real question. My late grandfather-in-law bequeathed us a large rock about the size of a newborn baby. Supposedly it is valuable, but since he has passed away, any specific knowledge he had is not available to us. I went into my friendly local rock store and tried to get information about this rock and they told me to google it. I did not subsequently google "what is up with this large rock" since I figured it wouldn't help. But anyway, I'm kind of out of ideas! How does a person find out the value of a large rock? Do I bring it to a jeweler or something? I wrote to Cal Geology and nobody responded. Any ideas would be much appreciated!!!
You might want to reach out to the Children’s Natural History Museum in Fremont. They have a rock and mineral collection. While not an appraisal they might be able to tell you what kind of rock it is.
https://cnhm.msnucleus.org
There is a pretty amazing rock and mineral shop in Vacaville, where you might get some answers:
Consolidated Rock & Mineral (info [at] vacavillerockshop.com)
5115 Quinn Rd
Vacaville, CA 95688-9452
Happy to give it a go. : )