Stolen Canadian Ammolite Fossil

Picture of ammolite fragment from Lethbridge Canada, shown here for reference. This piece was not stolen but available to see on Wikipedia. Attribution: James St. John [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

CTV News Calgary Canada reported on July 18, 2019 that thieves stole serving plate sized ammonite fossil from their quarry. The fossil once prepped and polished is estimated to be worth around $30,000-40,000 U.S. The quarry is near Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada and is operated by Enchanted Designs Limited.

What makes the fossil so valuable is that it is composed of a organic gem like material ammolite. Ammolite is a biogenic gemstone like pearl and amber. The material comes from the ancient shells of cephalopods. More than likely the fossil was a Placenticeras sp. from the Cretaceous Period (70-75 million years ago). The creatures swam in what was known as the Western Interior Seaway which stretched from today's Arctic Ocean, through western Canada and United States and down to the Gulf of Mexico.

Below is an embedded video of the story when some nice images of the quarry and what raw and finished ammonite fossils look like from the quarry. If the video is not showing up, go to this link to view: https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/lethbridge/video?clipId=1733413&binId=1.1484062&playlistPageNum=1


Read about the story at this link:
https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/50k-fossil-stolen-in-noon-hour-heist-from-ammonite-mine-near-lethbridge-1.4514504

Yellow Ammonite Fossils

In the previous post, I wrote about a visit to Sant Ignazio Roman Catholic Cathedral in Rome, Italy. I found some ammonite fossils in the floor slabs. The last post was about the red fossils, this one is about the yellow ones. I believe this yellow stone is referred to as Ammonitico Giallo. Fossils from this layer are from the Jurassic Period.

Under the crest is some text embedded in the stone, it looks like roman numerals MDCCXLVII which convert to 1747 in decimal. If that is the year of installation then 272 years ago as of this writing.

On the Internet is a waymarking web site that documented this find. They are similar to the ones I found at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Ammonite Fossils in St. Ignazio Church - Rome

Recently while visiting Sant Ignazio Roman Catholic Cathedral in Rome, Italy I found some ammonite fossils in the floor slabs. After researching on the Internet, there is a waymarking web site that documented this find. They are similar to the ones I found at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

The ammonite fossils are embedded in a number of red and yellow polished limestone slabs in the floor. The slabs are in the main floor of the church, the left side section of church with a statue, and the yellow stone on a crest toward the center floor of the church. They appear to be Rosso Ammonitico Lombardo (red polished limestone). This stone is dated to the Jurassic Period. I am not sure about the yellow stone, it might be Ammonitico Giallo. I hope to have a post about this in the near future.
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UPDATE (2022): These ammonoids could date to the Upper Jurassic Period of the Rosso Ammonitico Formation, Oxfordian Stage, Verona Province, Venetia Region of Italy. This iron enriched (red) limestone is also known as Red Verona Marble or Rosso Verona Marble.