SOLD Barite - USA classic locale
stock #SOLD 23.1-729
Hartsel, Hartsel Mining District, Park County
Colorado,
United States
5.1 x 3.9 x 1.5 CM (small cabinet/ large miniature)
price: $0
Pre Tucson
From Hartsel which is almost exactly in the center of Colorado, this is a stacked cluster of flat habit crytsals. The color is blue grey with a lighter hue at the tips and edges. The crystals are epitaxially stacked and this is in very good condition. Colorado has several important Barite locations, the three best known are Stonham, Book Cliffs and Hartsel. All three have very different styles of Barite. Very distict form and habit on this older specimen, an excellent example of a nice Hartsel.
Goethite - iridescent filigree form
stock #22.1-636
Hot Springs, Garland County
Arkansas,
United States
7.2 x 3.3 x 2 CM (cabinet)
price: $750
Pre Tucson
Delicate twisting strands, fingers and branches of Goethite with colorful iridescence. The patina ranges from blue and purple to red and yellow colors. This specimen and a few others of this style were found some decades ago. These have a very unusual morphology and are super attractive. The material was mentioned in the “what’s new†column of Tom Moore in the Mineralogical Record. There were not many and the source was the sale of an older collection in Arkansas, the Goethite was a one off find at a construction site. Unusual and pretty these are really a very different look for the specie.
SOLD Apatite (purple) - rare locality
stock #SOLD 22.1-488
Chas de Tavares, Mangualde
Viseu,
Portugal
1.2 x 1 x .8 CM (thumbnail)
price: $0
Pre Tucson
A sharp, glass and bright purple Apatite crystal from a very little known locality, found in 2012. Ex Alain Martaud collection this is in excellent condition and shows zoning with the more vivid purple color near the bottom of the crystal and when viewed through the termination the very center has a colorless zone in the core. Portugal is one of the world’s great sources of fine Apatite from the famed Panasqueira Mine, but this locality is over 125 KM to the west and the region has a very complex and different type of mineralogy. Very few of the Apatites from here are purple and most are a lot smaller, this is superb for the locality.
Vesuvianite - Gem crystal
stock #17.1-440
Jeffrey Mine, Asbestos (now Val-des-Sources, Estrie,
Quebec,
Canada
3.6 x 1.6 x 1.5 CM (miniature)
price: $3300
Pre Tucson
Vivid color and glassy faces with well-defined striations, this crystal is nearly all transparent and in perfect condition. The color is a bright asparagus green and has a purple to red core. In person the termination looks like a faceted gem, the luster is so bright it is hard to convey in photos. The Vesuvianites from Jeffrey Mine are unique in the world, famed for the colors and perfection. There were quite a few good ones found a few decades ago but very fine crystals like this were never common. Today we see very few and always at very high prices. This is from the F. Spertini collection (the mine geologist for whom Spertiniite is named) and is far better in person with a top display impact. No damage at all. Even on the bottom where it had been naturally broken inside the pocket long ago it is fully healed and re-crystalized. So technically this is doubly terminated and a floater.
Gibbsite- type locale, historic specimen
stock #16.1-125
Richmond, Berkshire County
Massachusetts,
United States
7.7 x 5.6 x 5.4 CM (cabinet)
price: $330
Pre Tucson
A fine botryoidal crust of yellowish-white Gibbsite on Limonite ore. From the famed Oren Root collection (with label) which was transferred to Hamilton College in 1835. The Root collection was at that time the finest in the United Staes. This was a new specie named in 1822 in honor of Colonel George Gibbs who was also an important early American mineral collector. This is a very early piece from the type locale, when first found it was misidentified as Wavellite. The specimen left Hamilton College to the NY State Museum collection then to Don Potter and later to Dr. Steven Chamberlain, then to Carter Rich. A long history indeed. Good fluorescence as well, with green and yellow zones LW and midwave shows green to bluish purple and yellow zones.
Minas Gerais,
Brazil
3.2 x 2.4 x 1.1.9 CM (small miniature/ large thumbnail (toenail))
price: $0
Pre Tucson
Bright yellow gem grade Beryl crystal 26.2 grams. Essentially this is all fine facet grade that was rescued from cutting some decades ago. This crystal section is well-terminated on one end and although broken on the other end it does show some rehealing there. The color is yellow with an orange hue in most lighting but with a backlight it is a pure bright yellow. It does not seem to be heat treated or irradiated as far as we can tell. Since this came from a gem lot in Minas Gerais (Brazil) we are not certain of the exact mine source, though we have guesses. It is sold as a very nice gem crystal at a great discount for the reason of incomplete locality data. Very fine luster and well-defined striations, this is sold below the value of the facet rough.
Bournonite - fine cogswheel habit crystals
stock #21.1-538
Machocamarco Mine, Cornelio Saavreda Province
Potosi,
Bolivia
4.7 x 3.4 x 2.2 CM (miniature)
price: $690
Pre Tucson
Perfect, sharp and very lustrous metallic crystals in a cluster from the important find in 2019 at the Machacamarca Mine. The form and habit really look like fine classic Cornish crystals but these are recent and a small fraction of the cost for a vintage English specimen. The crystals are up to 1.8 CM, undamaged and have textbook perfect morphology. Steel-grey color and an elegant arrangement make this miniature far especially choice. These are certain to be considered classics themselves in the future. Right now this quality and price for undamaged Bournonites is something special.
A small cluster of bright pink Tourmalines with good translucency and gem transparent sections. This has sharp edges, well-formed striations and flat terminations in excellent condition. Any such specimens from this locality are very rare and any good ones like this are simply never seen on the market. This is mounted on a 19th century style turned wooden base. Certainly the best specimen I have seen from this locality but honestly I have seen very few others, and none ever outside of museum collections.