Cab or Specimen? That is the question!
 
Utah Agatized Barite is one of the most unique Utah rocks. It's a fossil! 
But it's a fossil of a mineral! It's an agate replacement of a barium sulfate crystal nodule. 
 
Check out my KinesavaTALKS blog essay:
 
O. G. Wottafossil !!! (With apologies to Popeye)
 
Millions of years ago, barium sulfate crystal clusters were buried and replaced with silica in a process essentially the same as the way wood or bone was replaced and turned into agate. Barium sulfate crystal nodules can still be found. A picture of an actual barium sulfate nodule is included for comparison with this agate replacement.
 
This rock was found in the agate beds north of Moab where the very costly Yellowcat Wood was once found and it shares the deep red color from the geological history of the area.

Utah agatized barite takes the same great polish as other Utah agate. The pieces that have been polished by other customers prove that!
 
If you're intrigued by this rock because you've never seen anything like it before, you're not alone. One of my customers wrote back and called me, The Barite King. That might be close to the truth because if you search for agatized barite on the web, you will probably find it in only two places:
 
* Agatized barites that I have offered for sale in the past (some at Etsy ... I don't do business there anymore but they still come up as search results.)
* Barite beads -- I have a theory about these. I think they're produced by third-world jewelry factories. See my blog The Definition of Old Stock. Send me a message and we can discuss my theory.
 
I found one whole, unpolished barite like mine for sale for $200. It was undoubtedly purchased at an estate sale because the discovery location of the barite wasn't correct and some hand-typed labels were part of the listing. The seller clearly didn't know much about it.  Do a search for yourself!!!

The listed barites are shown in the first two pictures. The others are examples including barite nodules that other customers have polished to show what can be done with them!