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MINERAL SPECIMENS FOR DISPLAY

  NEW ACQUISITIONS

= Fluorescent Specimen
   =  Radioactive Specimen

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ELBAITE TOURMALINE
Santa Rosa Mine, Itambacuri, Southeast Region, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil
An excellent display piece, this beautiful Elbaite Tourmaline specimen is a slightly divergent intergrowth of many prismatic, flat-top terminated, dark blue-green to dark green crystals without matrix.  View A shows the specimen from the front where, near the base of the specimen, its central core of cranberry red color Elbaite (Rubellite) is revealed.   View B shows the dark blue-green color of the base of each crystal, grading upwards to dark green color at the terminations.  Bi-colored Elbaite Tourmaline crystals are given the name watermelon Tourmaline by collectors and gemologists.  The definition of watermelon Tourmaline, in the “Dictionary of Gems and Gemology”, published by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), is “A term applied to Tourmaline, the center of which is pink and the edges green”.  The individual crystals are up to 3 5/8” long.  Former collection of Lorraine Sofia.
Specimen size:  3 5/8” tall, 1 1/4” X 1” wide at the base, and 1 3/4” X 1 1/4” wide across at the termination.
Order Item MI-1604
Price:  $2300.


 
Pyrite – Bacino Mine, Rio Marina, Isola de Elba, Italy – Large single crystal.
Order Item No. MI-1262
Specimen size:  2 Ό X 1 Ύ X 1 3/4
Price:  $75.
 


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Pyrite with Quartz – Alimon Mine, San Jose de Hyayllay District, Cerro de Pasco Province, Pasco Dept., Peru

Order Item No. MI-1268A
Pyrite cubes to Ύ” across, Quartz xls. to Ύ” tall. 
Specimen size:  5 ½ X 4 3/8 X  1 Ύ”
Price:  $225.

Order Item No. MI-1268B
B. Pyrite cubes to 5/8” and near Ύ” across, needle Quartz xls. to 1” tall
Specimen size:  5 X 4 Ό X 1 3/8”
Price:  $275


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Pyrite – Navajun, Logrono Region, La Rioja Province, Spain –  The largest Pyrite cube is 1 1/8” X 1 1/8”.  The host rock (matrix) is marl, which has been analyzed as more than 50% clay (type not specified in the analysis) and at least 15% calcium carbonate, i.e., either Calcite or Aragonite.

Order Item No. MI-1270A
Specimen size:  4 Ύ X 3 5/8 X  2 Ό”
Price:  $80 
SOLD

Order Item No. MI-1270B
Specimen size: 3 7/8 X 2 7/8 X  2 3/8”
Price:  $65


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Quartz – Amethyst – Anahi Mine, Santa Cruz, Bolivia – Large single crystal.

Order Item No. MI-1269A
Specimen size:  4 Ό X 3 X 2 Ό”
Price:  $225

Order Item No. MI-1269B
Specimen size:  3 3/4 X 3 1/8 X 2 5/8”
Price:  $195
 
Quartz – State of Minas Gerais, Southeast Region, Brazil - Agate Geode with drusy Quartz xls., both halves polished on the surface
Order Item No. MI-1261
Specimen size:  Pair – Left side is 4 7/8 X 2 Ύ X 1 Ύ”.  Right side is 4 5/8 X 2 Ύ X 1 ½”
Price:  $60. / pair


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Quartz – Amethyst – State of Minas Gerais, Southeast Region, Brazil – Several nice display specimens available, priced according to the specimen size and size of crystals.  All are sections from the interiors of very large, geode-like formations.
Order Item No. MI-1267A
Specimen size:  4 5/8 X 2 Ό X 1 Ό”
Price:  $30.

Order Item No. MI-1267B.
Specimen size:  4 X 3 3/8 X 1 Ό”
Price:  $40. SOLD

Order Item No. MI-1267C
Specimen size:  3 Ό X 3 Ό X 1 Ύ”
Price:  $35.  SOLD

Order Item No. MI-1267D
Specimen size:  7 Ύ X  4 3/8  X 2 1/8”
Price:  $90.

Order Item No. MI-1267E
Specimen size:  10 X 7 ½ X 1 Ύ
Price:  $150 SOLD
Quartz “Herkimer Diamond” – Middleville, Herkimer County, New York – Two large, magnificent water clear xls. are in a group, no matrix.
Order Item No. MI-1272
Specimen size:  2 ½ X 1 ½ X 1”
Price:  $145
Quartz with Montmorillonite and Rutile inclusions – Skalistyi Mine, Polar Urals, Russia – Large double terminated Quartz xl. with inclusions of pale pink Montmorillonite on the right end, and hair-like golden Rutile needles on the left end.  All faces of the Quartz xl. have been polished so the inclusions can be clearly observed.  The associated Montmorillonite might also be of interest because it is in the clay minerals group.
Order Item No.  MI-073A
Specimen size:  5 Ύ X 3 1/8 X 3”
Price:  $225.
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ELBAITE TOURMALINE, LEPIDOLITE
Himalaya Mine, Mesa Grande, San Diego County, California
A very nice single crystal, this specimen is from one of California’s best known localities for Elbaite Tourmaline, recently obtained from the collection of Lorraine Sofia of Daly City, CA.  The Elbaite crystal is 2 1/8” tall, and 1 1/8” X 1” in cross section, without matrix. The termination is intact, well defined, with a very slight contact point on one edge.  The lower portion of the crystal is accentuated by several light lavender color clusters of crystallized Lepidolite.  Most of the Lepidolite was deposited on the front of the Elbaite crystal, with only one Lepidolite crystal cluster on the back of the specimen.   A very interesting feature of the growth of this crystal is the natural bending and re-healing plane exhibited as a very pale pink zone near the base of the specimen on the left side of the photo.  This feature is more obvious on the back of the crystal.  This process is described in the “Mineralogical Record”, Vol. 8, No. 6 (California issue), P. 472, illustrated in Fig. 18.  The result is that the base of the crystal is slightly offset from the natural inclination of the prism faces to be parallel.  Additional information on the Himalaya Mine appears in the “MR”, Vol. 16, No. 5, (Tourmaline special issue), P. 419-424, and in Vol. 33, No. 5, (California Pegmatites special issue), P. 390-396.
Specimen size:  2 1/8” tall, 1 1/8” X 1” in cross section.  88.40 grams
Order Item MI-1582
Price:  $400.
 

   


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Quartz – Amethyst – Artigas, Uruguay – Both specimens are sections of large, geode-like formations.  From this locality, these very special specimens have knobby projections of matrix, protruding into the hollow openings in the geodes, and these knobby projections are covered with Amethyst crystals.  Item B. only has small white Calcite xls. associated.

Order Item No. MI-1278A
Specimen size:  3 ½ X 2 ½ X 2 Ό”
Price:  $110.

Order Item No. MI-1278B
Specimen size:  4 ½ X 3 3/8 X 2 ½”
Price:  $150. SOLD


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ELBAITE (RUBELLITE) TOURMALINE
Cruzeiro Mine, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil
Two views of this specimen are presented.  View A shows the front of this sharp, multi-color, translucent pink, prismatic crystal intergrowth.  It is actually an intergrowth of two individual crystals attached side-by-side along the prism faces, offset slightly so the group is 1/2” wide at the base, and 5/8” wide at the center.  The color zoning of both crystals grades from pink at the base, to a light lavender in the center, and back to pink at the top of the specimen.  View B shows the back of the crystal group, where a 1/4” non-terminated crystal is attached near the top of the specimen.  Very nice specimen, no matrix.  Former collection of Lorraine Sofia, with a Dan and Jill Weinrich label.
Specimen size:  3 1/4” tall, up to 5/8” wide, and 1/4” thick
Order Item MI-1602
Price:  $325.

Dolomite – Eugui, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain – Group of large translucent / colorless xls.
Order Item No. MI-1271
Specimen size:   1 ½ X 1 Ό X 1 1/8”
Price:  $60
 

APATITE
Yates Mine, Otter Lake, Quebec, Canada
A large mass of crystalline, light orange Calcite forms the matrix for two variegated color, dark green to purple-maroon color Apatite crystals.  The dimensions of the crystals are:
Large terminated crystal:  3 1/8” long, and 1 5/8” X 1 1/4” in diameter
Smaller non-terminated crystal:   2 3/8” long, and 5/8” X 1/2” in diameter
Overall specimen size:  4 1/2” X 4 1/8” X 2 1/2”
Weight:  1,061.70 grams
Price:  $95.00  SOLD
Order Item:  MI-1645


MI-1429

Close up

OPAL Var. Hyalite Opal (“Glass Opal”)  Squaretop Mountain, near Dalby, Southeast Queensland, Australia
This large display quality specimen is a section of volcanic basalt matrix upon which has formed a profusion of  colorless, globular to botryoidal droplets and interesting formations of  water clear Hyalite Opal, also known as “Glass Opal”. 
Moderate greenish-yellow fluorescence under shortwave ultraviolet.  The rock matrix along one edge of the specimen has been sawed, so it will stand upright in proper orientation for display. 
Specimen size:  15 1/2” long, and 9 1/2” wide (area of the surface of the specimen covered by the botryoidal Hyalite Opal), X  3” to 4 1/2” thick.
Order Item: MI-1429
Price:  $375.
 

Manganite
Ilfeld, Nordhausen, Harz Mountains, Thuringia, Germany
Shiny black prismatic, terminated Manganite crystals completely cover the top-front of this specimen, from one of Europe’s best known localities for crystallized Manganite.  The matrix is solid black Manganite with rounded, concave forms covering the base of the specimen, as though the Manganite was deposited on top of an earlier mineral with a botryoidal surface.  No rock matrix.  The largest Manganite crystal is 3/4” long (21 mm) X 1/4” wide (7 mm).  From the collection of Dr. Wayne J. A. Walton.
Specimen size:  2 3/4” X 2” across, X 1 7/8” thick
Order item MI-1438
Price:  $550.00

Gypsum with Malachite, Brochantite, Linarite – Blanchard Mine, Socorro Co., New Mexico  - The Gypsum is colored pale green by inclusions of Malachite.
Order Item No. MI-1277
Specimen size:  3 ½ X 3 Ό X 3”
Price:  $35

TETRAHEDRITE, QUARTZ
Casapalca Mine, Huarochiri Province, Lima Department, Peru
This beautifully crystallized Tetrahedrite specimen has sharp black intergrown tetrahedral crystals (largest are 3/8”+ and 1/2” across) covering the entire top of the specimen.  Micro Quartz and Pyrite crystals were deposited as a 1/2” wide band across the center of the specimen.  The base of the specimen is micro crystalline and massive Pyrite – no rock matrix.  Lorraine Sofia collection.
Specimen size:  2 1/4” long, l  l/8” wide, 5/8” thick
Price:  $70.00 SOLD
Order Item:  MI-1644

Anhydrite – Naica, Municipio de Saucillo, Chihuahua, Mexico – Beautifully terminated, large single crystal, no matrix.  Very minor Pyrite is associated.
Order Item No. MI-1253
Specimen size:  3” tall, 1 ½” wide, near 3/8” thick
Price:  $65
SOLD
Orthoclase Var. Adularia – Val Cristallina, Medel, Grisons (Graubunden), Switzerland – Large white twinned xl. is 3” across.  The pale gray area in the center of the main large xl. is a small group of Adularia xls. with a slight shadow on them, protruding directly out of the front of the large crystal.  Minor pale green Chlorite is associated, and a small amount of matrix on the back of the specimen.
Order Item No. MI-1247C
Specimen size:  3 X  2 1/8 X 1 3/8”
Price:  $95
   
Montmorillonite – Boron Mine, Boron, Kern Co., California – Pure massive, pale pink.
Order Item No. MI-1274
Specimen size:  3 Ό X 1 7/8 X 1 3/8”
Price:  $24.50 
SOLD


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Talc with Actinolite – Wrightwood, San Bernardino Co., CA – Pale green to light silver-gray color Talc with dark green crystalline Actinolite, no matrix.

Order Item No. MI-1276A
Specimen size:   5 Ύ X 2 5/8 X 2 ½”
Price:  $40.

Order Item No. MI-1276B
Specimen size:  7 Ό X 4 X 2”
Price:  $85




Scheelite, Muscovite
Mt.  Xuebaoding, Pingwu Co., Mianyang Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China
Several very sharp, translucent, orange-tan color octahedral crystals of Scheelite are perched on top of Muscovite crystal covered matrix.  Very nice display specimen, with excellent UV fluorescence.   The three largest octahedral Scheelite crystals each measure 2” and greater.

UV fluorescence: 
SW UV:  bright blue-white
LW UV:  light tan
Order item MI-1463
Price:  $450.00


 
 

OBSIDIAN, CRISTOBALITE, FAYALITE
Glass Mountain, near Coso Hot Springs, Inyo County, California
This locality has been known since the late 19th century.  The earliest report of this occurrence for Obsidian with Cristobalite inclusions was published in a paper in the Geological Society London Quarterly Journal by F. Rutley in 1890.  Shiny black Obsidian has spheroidal openings which have been filled with light gray Cristobalite.  With magnification of 20-30X, tiny white Cristobalite crystals can be seen lining the openings in the spheroids of massive Cristobalite.  Several tabular crystals of brown Fayalite (+/- 1 mm size) are scattered over the insides of the spheroids of Cristobalite.  This occurrence has been “off limits” to collecting for many years, within the boundaries of a military base.
Specimen size:  4 1/4” tall, 3 3/8” wide, and up to 1 1/2” thick
Order Item MI-1437
Price:  $60.00

Muscovite – Stak Nala, Gilgit Division, Pakistan – Large cleavage of light smoky gray color Muscovite, no matrix or associated minerals.
Order Item No. MI-1259
Specimen size:  6 X 4 Ό” across, X approx. 5 mm thick
Price:  $45
Muscovite (Sericite) pseudo after (replacing) Leucite – Hamitkoy Area, Kaman, Kirshehir, Turkey – Slightly off-white color massive Kaolinite is replacing a small “softball” size Leucite crystal.  Fully terminated, no matrix.
Order Item No. MI-1255
Specimen size:  2 7/8 X 2 5/8 X  2 ½”
Price:  $35 
SOLD





SPODUMENE
Mawi Pegmatite, Laghman Province, Afghanistan  A true gem of a specimen, this transparent, light yellow single crystal is excellent for display, with much of the crystal being very gemmy, to gem quality.  Three views are shown – the specimen is very nice all around.  The termination is sharp, with slightly frosted faces.  The prism faces are smooth to lightly striated, and the base of the crystal is healed (unbroken).  No matrix.  Former collection of Lorraine Sofia, originally imported into the USA by Freedom Valley gems of Union City, CA (gem dealers and former residents of Afghanistan).
Specimen size:  4 1/4” tall, 2 1/2” wide, 1 1/2” thick
Weight:  470.2 grams (more than 1 pound!)
Order Item MI-1603
Price:  $700.


 

Calcite – Tsumeb, Namibia – Group of rhombohedral xls. on matrix.
Order Item No. MI-1265
Specimen size:  3 ½ X 2 7/8  X  1 Ύ”
Price:  $65
Calcite Var. Manganocalcite – Wessels Mine, Northern Cape Province, South Africa – Very pale pink crystal group.
Order Item No. MI-1266
Specimen size:  3 Ό X 2 3/8 X 1 1/8”
Price:  $45


CHROMITE with UVAROVITE - Saranovskii Mine, Saranovskaya Village, Gornozavodskii Area, Permskaya Oblast, Middle Urals, Russia
Solid black Chromite mass is completely covered on the top surface with brilliant emerald green Uvarovite micro crystals, deposited upon a thin layer of pale lavender Kammererite.  The size measurement below of 115 X 60 mm is the dimension of the top surface of the specimen, which is covered with Uvarovite and Kammererite.  No rock matrix. This is an exceptional specimen from the collection of the Fersman Mineralogical Museum in Moscow, with a museum label.  No rock matrix.

Specimen size:  115 X 60 X 25 mm
Gram weight:  405.20 grams
Order item: MI-1679      Price:  $125.00

 

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