Florida’s state stone is agatized coral: ancient coral heads whose structure was replaced over millions of years, cell by cell, with agate and chalcedony, so a fossil coral turns to a gemstone that takes a polish. It weathers out of the Tampa Bay country and the Withlacoochee and Suwannee riverbeds; the Ballast Point and Tampa Bay area is the classic ground. The rule that matters: coral is an INVERTEBRATE fossil, and on Florida state land that is not a park, a wildlife refuge or a designated vertebrate site you may pick invertebrate fossils off the surface with no permit. Shark teeth are fine too. Any OTHER vertebrate fossil needs a Florida Fossil Permit from the Florida Museum, five dollars for the year, and finds must be reported. Managed areas are off-limits either way, so know whose ground you are on before you dig a bank.
Agatized coral
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