Fairburn Agate is noted for its strikingly contrasted and thin bands of beautiful natural colors. Rapp and Roberts (1965) note that the color patterns of Fairburn Agate are basically yellowish-brown which is completed with narrow opaque white bands or dark red which is completed with white bands. Meanwhile, another wonderful combination shows salmon-pink bands completed with white bands. There are other colors that can be chosen in this Fairburn Agate such as yellow, black, milky-pink and grayish-blue.
Where is Fairburn Agate found?
Fairburn Agate was originally named after a politic royalty 10 miles east of Fairburn, South Dakota which is located in the Southern Black Hills area. Based on Rapp and Roberts (1965), Fairburn Agate shows in a broad elliptical belt which is extending from Creston in Pennington County, Nebraska with the maximum width of 15 miles near Red Shirt South Dakota. Fairburn Agate may be accumulated around the Fairburn region where it is scattered on the ground surface. There is no company which accumulates and markets Fairburn Agate.
The value of Fairburn Agate
The Fairburn Agate was designated as state gemstone of South Dakota on February 11, 1966. Statistics of Fairburn Agate does not be kept by the S.D Department of Environment and Natural Resources or DENR. According to Campbell and Roberts (1985) in terms of literature, Fairburn Agate is noted as quite scarce and the price is very high for collectors who want to collect this stone. According to Eric Fritzsch, Geology Museum, South Dakota School of Technology and Mines, the range price of Fairburn Agate is up to $150 which is depending on the quality and the size of the geode. Just like the other Agates, a larger Fairburn Agate is not importantly a better-quality agate. Agate is ultimately used as mineral specimens, as decorative pieces and in lapidary work.
