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F-196  Fluorite  $40  SOLD

Pivoul Mine, Lozère, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

4 x 4 x 2.5 cm.

An aesthetic cluster of translucent-transparent, yellow Fluorite cubes from the 2007 find at the Pivoul Mine, Lozère Department, France. The largest crystal is 1.5 centimeters and some of the crystal faces are preferentially frosted.  The rear of this specimen features an overgrowth of millimeter sized crystals.  This Fluorite has a strong cream-like yellow fluorescence under SWUV light and a weaker pink-red under LWUV light.

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G-103  Garnet variety Uvarovite  $50

Jacksonville, Tuolumne County, California

4 x 4 x 3.5 cm.

A fine, old-time, Uvarovite specimen from the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the central eastern portion of California.  Brilliant, sparkly, emerald-green crystals to 3 mm cover a good portion of the matrix on this piece.  Uvarovite (named for Russian Count, Sergey Semeonovich Uvarov) is the very uncommon chromium-rich Garnet species.  Uvarovite specimens are virtually unobtainable from this location.

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F-185  Albite with Epidote  $35
(ex. R. Rizzo Collection)

Lavra do Jacare, Itinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil

4.5 x 3.5 x 3.5 cm.

This blocky Pericline-twinned Albite crystal is from my Feldspar collection.  It is hollow in the center of the main crystal.  Accenting one side of the specimen are many small crystals of Epidote.

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F-183  Fluorite  $50
(ex. R. Rizzo collection)

Judith Lynn Claim, Grant County, New Mexico

4.4 x 2.9 x 2.6 cm.

The octahedral Fluorite crystals from the Judith Lynn Claim have become very scarce over the years.  At one time it was not hard to find one for sale, but lately they're just not around anymore. This specimen has a nice purple-red color and has an interesting bumpy, fish-scale-like texture on the crystal faces.  These specimens, when you could still get them, were sold as being from Catron County to mislead potential claim-jumpers and poachers.

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P-067  Phlogopite  $25

Franklin Mining District, Franklin, Sussex County, NJ

4.5 x 4 x 1 cm.

Here we have a specimen of a chocolate-colored variety of the type of Mica known as Phlogopite.  The name Phlogopite comes from the Greek word "phlogopos" which means "resembling fire" in allusion to its red tint.

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O-014  Hyalite Opal with Carbonate-Fluorapatite  $40

Valec, Doupov, Bohemia, Czech Republic

4 x 2.8 x 1.7 cm.

A beautiful, water-clear Hyalite Opal perched on matrix.  This Opal is so glossy and transparent, it is very difficult to photograph.  The formation of the Opal resembles bubbling water.  This form of Opal occurs in volcanic environments where the silica was deposited at elevated temperatures.  This specimen is also features white crystals of the Calcium rich variety of the mineral Fluorapatite that is known as Carbonate-Fluorapatite.  This specimen exhibits a strong, green fluorescence when lit by SWUV light.

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H-055  Halite  $30  Reserved

Mulhouse, Alsace, Haut-Rhin, France

4 x 4 x 2 cm.

A slightly curved and blocky specimen of Halite ranging from colorless to light-blue to dark-blue. At one time these Halite specimens were fairly common, but are rarely seen for sale these days.

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T-101  Topaz  $75  SOLD

Dom Bosco, Ouro Preto
Minas Gerais, Brazil

1.4 x .5 x .3 cm.

This lustrous “Imperial” Topaz crystal is from the find made in the early 1970's.  Purple is among the rarest of all colors for Topaz and is much sought after by collectors.  These are from an older find; not the more recent find from the Brumado Mine in Bahia.  A must have for any collector of Brazilian minerals.

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T-103  Topaz  $90

Dom Bosco, Ouro Preto
Minas Gerais, Brazil

2.2 x .4 x .2 cm.

This lustrous “Imperial” Topaz crystal is from the find made in the early 1970's.  Purple is among the rarest of all colors for Topaz and is much sought after by collectors.  These are from an older find; not the more recent find from the Brumado Mine in Bahia.  A must have for any collector of Brazilian minerals.

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S-117  Siderite with Calcite  $35

Nikolaevskiy Mine, Dal'negorsk, Primorskiy Kray, Russia

4.2 x 4.2 x 2.4 cm.

An unusual, partially hollow ball of tan Siderite with scattered, lustrous, translucent Calcite blades from the classic Nikolaevskiy Mine, Dal'negorsk, Russia.  This is classic material from this mine, and very hard to obtain.

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B-139  Barite  $35

Northumberland Mine, Nye County, Nevada

3.7 x 2.1 x 2.4 cm.

The Northumberland Mine is the highest elevation open-pit mine in Nevada.  The Barites from this location bear a strong resemblance to classic English Barites, as can be seen in the photos. This specimen has good clarity in its upper portion and possesses a rich amber color as well as a sharp, chisel termination.

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A-065  Azurite  $40

Touissit, Oujda-Angad Province, Morocco

4.5 x 3 x 2.3 cm.

A very lustrous crystal of Azurite on a clay-like matrix.  While a little bit rough-looking, the Azurite crystal is terminated.  An interesting feature of this specimen is its saturation of color, which grades from blue to almost black in places.  Despite the way it looks in the photo, this specimen is a lot better when seen in person.

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M-040  Malachite pseudomorph after Azurite  $65
(double terminated)

Sir Dominic Mine, Yudnamutana District, South Australia, Australia

3.5 x 2.5 x 2 cm.

An excellent, floater specimen of a Malachite replacing Azurite.  This crystal is terminated on both ends, with a small portion of Azurite protruding from its hoppered, top termination.  This Malachite also has a slight velvet-like appearance.

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G-082  Garnet variety Grossular  $65  SOLD

Jeffrey Quarry, Asbestos, Québec, Canada

3.6 x 3 x 1.5 cm.

Grossular Garnets from the Jeffrey Mine are world famous, and are some of the most sought-after specimens for this species.  This group of gemmy pinkish-orange colored crystals has an extraordinary luster, the crystal faces exhibit striations that are classic for these Garnets, and the crystals are very well defined. Most importantly, they have an internal brightness combined with external glassy lustre (making them extremely difficult, for me at least, to take a photograph that does the specimen justice) that puts it amongst the better quality specimens found here.  This specimen is a beauty.  And it looks even better in person.  Good quality specimens of these Garnets are not easy to find these days as the mine is mostly inactive and the lower levels are filling with water.

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V-017  Manganoan Vesuvianite  $100  SOLD

Jeffrey Quarry, Asbestos, Québec, Canada

2.5 x 1.9 x 1.9 cm.

First off let me say that the photo of this specimen does not even come close to doing it justice.  The crystals of this specimen have an eye-pleasing, grape-juice-like purple color with several of the crystals showing hints of magenta inside of their greenish-yellow terminations.  When illuminated with SWUV light, the crystals on this specimen fluoresce a good orange color.  The Jeffrey Quarry has long been known to produce excellent mineral specimens.  Good specimens of Manganoan Vesuvianite from this classic location are rarely found these days as the mine is mostly inactive and the lower levels are filling with water.

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W-016  Wulfenite  $40

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M-026  Malachite on Barite  $30

Thasos Island, Kavála Prefecture, Macedonia, Greece

3 x 4 x .9 cm.

This is not your typical Greek mineral specimen.  This Barite crystal is draped with a carpet of light green crystals of Malachite.  A good locality piece for a good price.

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E-022  Epidote and Quartz  $45

Fazenda Rubin Pimenta Mine, Capelinha, Minas Gerais, Brazil

3.9 x 2.4 x 2 cm.

When one thinks of Epidote, one often overlooks the good quality specimens that can be found in Brazil, such as the one presented here.  This columnar Epidote specimen features several double-terminated Epidote crystals hitchhiking on the side of its termination, as well as a transparent double-terminated 2.5 cm. Quartz crystal, which encapsulates a small bloom of Epidote.  A striking example of Epidote which would enhance anyone's collection.

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Q-171  Hubeite on Quartz with Apophyllite and Inesite  $60

Fengjiashan Mine, Hubei Province, China
(type locality)

3.5 x 3 x 2 cm.

The outstanding feature of this aesthetic mineral specimen is the rare Silicate mineral Hubeite.  Hubeite is only found at one location in the world, the Fengjiashan Mine in western China.  This specimen is comprised of many fan-like clusters of Hubeite measuring up to 7 millimeters in size.  Also present on this spectacular specimen are dozens of water clear crystals of Apophyllite and a 1 cm. crystal of the mineral Inesite.  Most Inesite crystals found at this mine are only a few millimeters long, making the one present on this specimen quite large.  The largest Inesite crystals found at this location only measured 1.5 cm.  This outstanding specimen is a testament to the diversity and quality of minerals that can be found in China.

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