| 5418: |
Beryl variety Aquamarine and Muscovite -
Sold Skardu Road, Gilgit, Northern Areas, Pakistan 10.4 x 9.9 x 6.0 cm (4.1 x 3.9 x 2.4 inches) At least ten sharply terminated aquamarine crystals nestled among muscovite blades, on rock matrix. The largest aquamarine crystal is 4 cm long. One aquamarine termination has a small chip and two have minor contact areas where muscovite was removed, but otherwise the aquamarines are free of damage. Sits well for display as seen in the first picture. |
| 5467: |
Sulfur - $8 El Desierto Mine, Daniel Campos Province, Potosí Department, Bolivia 4.6 x 4.2 x 3.8 cm (1.8 x 1.7 x 1.5 inches) Bright and vivid yellow, glassy sulfur crystals on matrix. (The yellow color is much more intense than the pictures on my computer show.) The crystals have a melted appearance that is common to sulfur. Sits well for display. |
| 5500: |
Malachite and Chrysocolla - $15 L'Etoile du Congo Mine, Lubumashi, Shaba, Congo 7.5 x 4.6 x 3.2 cm (3.0 x 1.8 x 1.3 inches) Deep green and very lustrous malachite crystals, accented by blue-green amorphous chrysocolla. The matrix appears to be a conglomerate of some sort, and is unusually light. |
| 5507: |
Apophyllite, Quartz, and Stilbite - $18 Poona, Maharashtra, India 6.8 x 6.0 x 4.2 cm (2.7 x 2.4 x 1.7 inches) Apophyllite crystals set on a carpet of small, druzy quartz fingers (maybe pseudomorphs after prehnite?). The largest apophyllite is pretty hefty, being 4 cm across. Minor stilbite. Sits well for display without a stand (first picture). No damage. An above average Indian apophyllite for the price. |
| 5521: |
Tourmaline - Sold Elizabeth R Mine, Pala District, San Diego County, California 3.5 x 2.7 x 1.7 cm (1.4 x 1.1 x 0.7 inches) This tourmaline features a green zone at the base and a blue zone at the cap. The termination is complete, with a complex pattern of ridges that reminds me of a polar ice pack breaking up in the spring thaw. A bright tourmaline from a southern California location known more for morganite and kunzite. |
| 5533: |
Pyromorphite - $15 Black Star Open Cut, Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia 3.8 x 2.4 x 2.0 cm (1.5 x 0.9 x 0.8 inches) Translucent, yellow-green
pyromorphite crystals sprinkled about on a
bubbly dark matrix (probably goethite or limonite). Many of the
pyromorphites are doubly-terminated, and the largest is 7 mm long. A
little edge wear and a few small chips here and there, but overall a
rich Australian pyromorphite that is not
from Broken Hill.
|
| 5555: |
Sphalerite and Quartz - $24 Dexing, Jiangxi, China 6.0 x 5.6 x 4.0 cm (2.4 x 2.2 x 1.6 inches) A vuggy crystalline quartz matrix hosts several clusters of resinous, red-brown, translucent to transparent sphalerite crystal clusters. The largest cluster is 1.8 cm across. |
| 5560: |
Epidote - Sold Bendoukou, Sandare District, Kayes Region, Mali 5.6 x 2.0 x 1.6 cm (2.2 x 0.8 x 0.6 inches) A few years ago, this locality produced specimens praised more for their prehnite than their epidote. However, fine doubly terminated epidotes up to six inches long without prehnite were also found. Here we have complete doubly-terminated deep green epidote crystal. A small contact area on one face, but otherwise no damage. A fine example of epidote for this locality. |
| 5566: |
Barite and Galena - Sold Huanzala Mine, Dos de Mayo Province, Huanuco Department, Peru 6.8 x 4.6 x 3.3 cm (2.7 x 1.8 x 1.3 inches) Colorless barite blades to 2.3 cm rise from a contrasting black matrix. Minor skeletal cuboctahedral galena. A few small nicks but no significant damage to the barites. The matrix is composed of black, hexagonal platy crystals, perhaps a mixture of sphalerite and tarnished pyrrhotite, or maybe wurtzite? A showy miniature. |
| 5567: |
Barite and Galena - Sold Huanzala Mine, Dos de Mayo Province, Huanuco Department, Peru 7.8 x 7.8 x 4.9 cm (3.1 x 3.1 x 1.9 inches) A complex cluster of colorless barite blades to 1.7 cm rise from a white, crystalline barite matrix. Accented with a few small galena groups. A few broken crystal edges, but these are lost among the complex whiteness. A lot of barite for the price. |
| 5568: |
Barite - Sold Huanzala Mine, Dos de Mayo Province, Huanuco Department, Peru 8.4 x 8.0 x 4.0 cm (3.3 x 3.1 x 1.6 inches) A complex cluster of colorless barite blades to 2.0 cm. A few broken crystal edges, but these are lost among the complex whiteness. A lot of barite for the price. |
| 5570: |
Barite - Sold Cidade Baixa Quarry, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Northeast Region, Brazil 3.5 x 2.8 x 2.4 cm (1.4 x 1.1 x 0.9 inches) A cluster of transparent brown, tabular barite crystals on matrix. A little edge wear and some broken crystals, and the price reflects this. A good representative specimen for the locality, which is named for the adjacent prison. |
