Opal - vintage USA specimen
stock #0949-JM-3447
Waterville, Douglass County
Washington,
United States
7.3 x 6.3 x 4.6 CM (cabinet)
price: $160
Spring 23
A nearly pure mass of waxy green Opal ex AE Foote, a roughly 1890 vintage specimen. The locality listed at that time was Waterville, the capital of Douglass County in Washington. We can find no later examples of this Opal anyplace on line, though Mindat does list a deposit at a dam site and there is a lake named Opal Lake. Yet nothing looks even remotely like this specimen. So this seems to be another lost location, perhaps found in a single spot long ago. The Opal is lustrous, good dense jelly that is vividly fluorescent and has some color variation but no fire. Ex John H. Marshall collection with Foote Label attached.
Analcime on Natrolite etc.
stock #17.1-455
Poudrette Quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire
Quebec,
Canada
5.8 x 4.7 x 3.8 CM (cabinet)
price: $320
Fall 22
A classic from the famed Mont Saint-Hilaire which is perhaps the world's most important Alkaline Pegmatite. This locality has so many outstanding and unusual combinations of minerals. This specimen features a 3.4 CM diameter Analcime crystal that is sharp, glassy and complete. This rests on several other minerals perhaps the most prominent are Natrolites some of which have pseudomorphed after an earlier mineral. A nice example of Saint-Hilaire Alkalai minerals.
Duftite on and in Calcite
stock #7.AE-018
Tsumeb
Otjikoto Region,
Namibia
5.3 x 4.6 x 2.3 CM (small cabinet/ large miniature)
price: $280
Fall 22
A nice combination specimen from Tsumeb. The Calcite is in two generations; the fist is a stack of discrete rhomb crystals that have been coated by green Duftite. The second generation is of tiny clear Calcite crystals that grew over some of the Duftite and add a nice sparkle. Quite esthetic and displays well despite few clean cleaves. Nice color and quality for the price.
Fluorite
stock #13.1-149
Gordonsville Mine, Carthage, Smith County
Tennessee,
United States
5.2 x 4 x 3.3 CM (small cabinet/ large miniature)
price: $150
Fall 22
Nice Gordonsville Mine (Elmwood) Fluorite. Zoned outer edges and a nice clear corner cap over growth on the main cube. These have become less available and more expensive in the past few years though they were common some time ago. These are classics already and the corner overgrowth on this one is textbook perfect.
Perfect, sharp and well-formed classic habit for a Serifos Quartz. The two side crystals are also sharp, slender and perfect. This locality has been famed for many years and still occasionally produces fine Quartz, but such clean tips have always been rare.
Colorful and classic Tsumeb specimen with flower-like sprays of light yellow Mimetite on a field of green Malachite balls. The specimen is quite richly covered and the Mimetite is well-distributed. One of the many reasons that Tsumeb is such a revered locality is the amazing diverse combinations of mineral species, elements, alterations and forms that are sometimes very esthetic. This is a choice example of these lead and copper species together. In very good condition as seen. The surface has hundreds of Malachite balls which with close exam are seen to be in the shape of Cuprite crystals (dodecahedral form) covered and altered to Malachite with a botryoidal surface. This alteration is very much like the classic Chessy, France pseudomorphs but with a different texture. An excellent display quality specimen with lots to see on it.
Very fine Rhodochrosite on Quartz from the famed Wallace Gould Levison (NYC, USA) collection obtained by trade in 1894 from a Mr. Gruzig. The large matrix holds an open cavity with Rhodochrosite balls and sparkling small crystals mixed with Quartz. The original locality listed in Levisons collection ledger calls the locality Sieben Geberge in Hungary. He later amended his label to Felsobanyo, Hungary. This is now Baia Spirie, Romania. This period was a dynamic epoch in the Austrio-Hungarian Empire, so localities were often renamed as borders, languages and nationalities changed. No matter the locality changes, this is a very well-formed specimen in excellent condition. The original Levison handwritten label is attached to the piece, and we also include a photocopy of this page from his collection notes/ ledger. Levison was an important American mineral collector and inventor (first patented movie camera etc). This piece is his number 1407 from a collection that eventually reached over 5,500. In addition to being an attractive specimen this has well-documented provenance and a good historic pedigree. Better and a little more vivid in person.
Scheelite on Muscovite
stock #AX-5-066
Mt. Xuebaoding, Pingwu Co., Mianyang Pref.
Sichuan Province,
China
7.6 x 5.8 x 3.9 CM (cabinet)
price: $1450
Fall 22
Fine deep orange-red Scheelite crystal on Muscovite matrix. This is an early specimen, ex Shields Flynn collection, that is the most rare and desirable color for Chinese Scheelite. The crystal is 3.2 CM across and lustrous, translucent to transparent. One lower corner has contacts where Muscovite blades grew into the Scheelite, the rest is in excellent condition, sharp and undamaged. As far as I know all Scheelites worldwide are fluorescent, usually a whitish blue. This one is more a yellow to orange color and is quite unusual. Overall a bright and attractive specimen with exceptional color.
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