100 new worldwide mineral specimens

100 new worldwide mineral specimens

A diverse mix of over 100 pieces dating from the 1800s to 2010 mining, $350-and up:
including fine thumbnails from the Sherman Collection;
GOLD; GEM CRYSTALS; and many CLASSICS

US$ € EURO ¥ YEN £ POUND CAN$ AUS$
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page 1 / 7 - 104 specimens selected - next - bottom - back to the Galleries

RKSTN-09 - Metatorbernite (huge crystal) - $ 2100
Gunnislake, Cornwall, England
thumbnail, 3.3 x 2.8 x .5 cm

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ex. Roland and Kathy Sherman

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Metatorbernite (huge crystal) from Gunnislake, Cornwall, England [db_pics/new2011/METATORBERNITE-OLDGUNNISLAKE-CORNWALL-ENGLAND-33MM-RS01-5.jpg]

Metatorbernite (huge crystal) from Gunnislake, Cornwall, England [db_pics/new2011/METATORBERNITE-OLDGUNNISLAKE-CORNWALL-ENGLAND-33MM-RS01-5.jpg]

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Metatorbernite (huge crystal) from Gunnislake, Cornwall, England [db_pics/new2011/METATORBERNITE-OLDGUNNISLAKE-CORNWALL-ENGLAND-33MM-RS01-7.jpg]

Metatorbernite (huge crystal) from Gunnislake, Cornwall, England [db_pics/new2011/METATORBERNITE-OLDGUNNISLAKE-CORNWALL-ENGLAND-33MM-RS01-7.jpg]

A beautiful, complex multiple-component crystal of unusually large size for this ancient locality. Condition is nearly pristine. This would have been found circa early to mid-1800s. . Acquired 1999 by the Shermans from dealer Cal Graeber, out of an old collection (I believe it was from the Sir Robert Ferguson collection (1769-1840), part of which Cal was handling at the time). From the Roland and Kathy Sherman thumbnail collection: they are competitive thumbnail exhibitors from Southern California, specializing in copper species. Joe Budd Photos

RKSTN-05 - Cuprite - $ 3000
El Cobre Mine, Santiago de Cuba, Sierra Maestra Mts, Oriente Province, Cuba
thumbnail, 3.1 x 2.8 x 1.9 cm

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ex. Roland and Kathy Sherman

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Cuprite from El Cobre Mine, Santiago de Cuba, Sierra Maestra Mts, Oriente Province, Cuba [db_pics/new2011/CUPRITE-EL_COBRE-CUBA-1.jpg]

Cuprite from El Cobre Mine, Santiago de Cuba, Sierra Maestra Mts, Oriente Province, Cuba [db_pics/new2011/CUPRITE-EL_COBRE-CUBA-1.jpg]

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Cuprite from El Cobre Mine, Santiago de Cuba, Sierra Maestra Mts, Oriente Province, Cuba [db_pics/new2011/CUPRITE-EL_COBRE-CUBA-3.jpg]

Cuprite from El Cobre Mine, Santiago de Cuba, Sierra Maestra Mts, Oriente Province, Cuba [db_pics/new2011/CUPRITE-EL_COBRE-CUBA-3.jpg]

An old piece dating back to the 1800s when these came out. Then, it went into well-known Tom Mckee collection of superb specimens of all size ranges. Then, it was lost for years and turned up in 2004 when I bought it. This is a superb Cuban cuprite, said by all who have seen it to be the best they know of (but i have never even seen another good one). Dave Wilber said in 1970, at the Tucson show that it was the best he knew of in all his own time, and offered $1500 for it according to previous owner card (and confirmed by Dave himself when I asked him at Tucson 2011!). 360 degree display quality and aesthetics, though with no red color per se, makes this a stunning specimen and an important locality piece . ex Robert Hesse collection to me, to the Shermans. Copper mining here dates to the early 1800s.. For what its worth, the previous owners valued this at $4500 and i have amortised it down in the collection purchase. From the Roland and Kathy Sherman thumbnail collection: they are competitive thumbnail exhibitors from Southern California, specializing in copper species. Joe Budd Photos

RKSTN-04 - Copper (cubic) - $ 2850
White Pine Mine, Ontanagon County, Michigan, USA
thumbnail, 3.3 x 2.1 x .9 cm

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ex. Roland and Kathy Sherman

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Copper (cubic) from White Pine Mine, Ontanagon County, Michigan, USA [db_pics/new2011/COPPER-ONTANAGON-MICHIGAN-33MM-RS07-9.jpg]

Copper (cubic) from White Pine Mine, Ontanagon County, Michigan, USA [db_pics/new2011/COPPER-ONTANAGON-MICHIGAN-33MM-RS07-9.jpg]

INCREDIBLE cubic coppers - super rare habit, in elegant perch on a thumbnail specimen. Maybe my favorite of the large copper suite (over 20 pieces) in the Sherman collection. Never seen quite the like for sharpness and stereotypical form. This is a PERFECT large thumbnail. A famous cubic copper sold for $20,000 recently, setting a new price precedent for a copper thumbnail - but it is of the same rare habit as this one, is interesting. This specimen is an AMFS showcase competition winner. From the Roland and Kathy Sherman thumbnail collection: they are competitive thumbnail exhibitors from Southern California, specializing in copper species. Joe Budd Photos

RKSTN-03 - Clinoclase - $ 2400
Majuba Hill, Pershing County, Nevada, USA
thumbnail, 2.2 x 2.2 x 1.1 cm

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ex. Roland and Kathy Sherman

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Clinoclase from Majuba Hill, Pershing County, Nevada, USA [db_pics/new2011/CLINOCLASE-MAJURA_HILL-NEVADA-22MM-RS06-5.jpg]

Clinoclase from Majuba Hill, Pershing County, Nevada, USA [db_pics/new2011/CLINOCLASE-MAJURA_HILL-NEVADA-22MM-RS06-5.jpg]

Crazy piece for the locality! Maybe the best US clinoclase? This is an old piece , from the well-known Marion Godshaw collection. Nobody I know has seen one this rich, with such big balls from here. The color is a rich, deep blue. The main cluster is pristine and 3-dimensional. SIGNIFICANT! Acquired in 2000 from an un-named old collection at a show. From the Roland and Kathy Sherman thumbnail collection: they are competitive thumbnail exhibitors from Southern California, specializing in copper species. Joe Budd Photos

RKSTN-02 - Chalcocite - $ 2250
Leonard Mine, Butte, Montana, USA
thumbnail, 2.9 x 1.6 x 1.1 cm

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ex. Roland and Kathy Sherman

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Chalcocite from Leonard Mine, Butte, Montana, USA [db_pics/new2011/CHALCOCITE-LEONARDMINE-BUTTE-MONTANA-29MM-RS05-7.jpg]

Chalcocite from Leonard Mine, Butte, Montana, USA [db_pics/new2011/CHALCOCITE-LEONARDMINE-BUTTE-MONTANA-29MM-RS05-7.jpg]

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Chalcocite from Leonard Mine, Butte, Montana, USA [db_pics/new2011/CHALCOCITE-LEONARDMINE-BUTTE-MONTANA-29MM-RS05-9.jpg]

Chalcocite from Leonard Mine, Butte, Montana, USA [db_pics/new2011/CHALCOCITE-LEONARDMINE-BUTTE-MONTANA-29MM-RS05-9.jpg]

Traded from Willard "Perky" Perkins collection in 1991, and dating back probably to the 1950s or 1960s, this is a superb chalcocite from the locale - where such robust crystals are very uncommon. Pristine save only one very teeny-tiny ding atop, and complete all around. This is a major thumb for the locale. It is one of my favorites in the collection. From the Roland and Kathy Sherman thumbnail collection: they are competitive thumbnail exhibitors from Southern California, specializing in copper species. Joe Budd Photos

TUC114-132 - Azurite - $ 7500
Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Namibia
small cabinet, 6.6 x 5 x 4 cm

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ex. David Stoudt

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This large, fat, very sharp and lustrous crystal masses 216 grams, about half a pound! This equant, robust style is uncommon, particularly in fine specimens of this size. The termination is super sharp and lustrous. This specimen was acquired in the early 1990s by collector Dave Stoudt, from a cull of the then-collection of Joel Bartsch, now President and Minerals Curator of the Houston Museum of Natural History. It is a major Small Cabinet sized azurite by any standard.Joe Budd Photos

TUC114-123 - Aquamarine - $ 8500
Gilgit District, Northern Areas, Pakistan
cabinet, 13.5 x 8.5 x 6 cm

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ex. Dr. Eugene Meieran

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Aquamarine is now abundant from Pakistan, and it takes a really novel form to get my attention to anything that is not super gemmy, per se. This is a beautiful piece that has really sculptural form, like a piece of art glass. It is intricate and semeingly delicate, yet robust. The narrow termination seems to have been either truncated in situ, or broken and then "healed" over with later growth, but it is terminated either way. The bottom shows etched, cityscape terminations and is mostly complete (only a few minor breaks to sidecar crystals are present on the piece, which I find acceptable in context of size and interest overall). This came out in 2008 and was briefly in the Gene Meieran collection.Joe Budd Photos

TUC114-120 - Calcite (Heart Twin) - $ 4000
Gillfoot Mine, Egremont, Cumberland, England
small cabinet, 7.6 x 6.8 x 4.5 cm

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ex. George Elling

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Heart Twinned calcites from Egremont are one of the most desirable of ancient classics, and date from the mid 1800s (perhaps as early as 1840). Specimens today turn up only out of very old collections and museum stashes, and are highly sought after. This particular piece was said to come out of Harvard's Museum when sold to collector George Elling in the 1990s at a show, though any prior history is now lost. The piece is extraordinarily bright, lustrous, and clear in color. Some twins have detracting spots of brown or red which detract. The crystal is complete all around, 360 degrees, and temrinated fully on top. The only detractions, which I do need to clarify are very minimal from a display point of view but did lower the value of the piece from $7500-9000 to $4000-5000, are a few very slight rubs and one contact on the right side where this twin grew against another crystal that has left a slight impression. Nevertheless, this is a superb display piece, and otherwise is of top quality in all other factors. It is fat and robust. This crystal is very gemmy and transparent, almost fully transparent in fact - rare in a twin of this size which usually is occluded and murky inside.Joe Budd Photos

TUC114-115 - Tourmaline on Quartz with Cleavelandite - $ 2950
Stak Nala, Haramosh Mts., Skardu District, Baltistan, Northern Areas, Pakistan
small cabinet, 8.5 x 7.5 x 5 cm

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ex. Klaus Neumann

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Stak Nala produced mostly in the 1980s, but has given up occasional pockets for the last 25 years. The style is very distinct, and at its best very aesthetic as well. The most classic examples from here, such as this, have multicolored tourmalines embedded in matrix. Usually that matrix is a bit of quartz and a lot of cleavelandite matrix. This one , however, has reversed that trend and consits of two tourmaline sto just over 5 cm (2 inches) long, perched on the quartz, and with only minor cleavelandite in association. Some purplish lepidolite mica shooting out in places is a definite bonus , as well. This piece is elegant, and complete all around 360 degrees. The pink prism terminations here are sharp, and grade into other color zones below. And, those terminations, combined with the overall style, are unique to this locality. from the well-known tourmaline collection of Klaus Neumann. 155 grams.Joe Budd Photos

TUC114-113 - Dolomite with Fluorite and Quartz - $ 2200
Shangbao Mine, Leiyang Co., Hengyang Prefecture, Hunan Province, China
cabinet, 10.5 x 9 x 9 cm

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Dolomite from Shangbao has set a new standard for the species from a Chinese locality, and is really unique in its overall form and aesthetics, too. This is a beautiful cluster from 2010 mining, complete all around 360 degrees and with no damage. It has complex, stepped dolomite crystals stacked one atop the other, and associated with little transparent fluorites and with some quartz crystals. It is one of the more elegant examples of this habit that I have seen for sale.Joe Budd Photos

TUC114-108 - Serendibite - $ 1400
Mogok, Sagaing District, Mandalay Division, Burma (Myanmar)
thumbnail, 1.6 x 0.9 x 0.4 cm

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Named after Serendib, the old Arabic name for Sri Lanka, this is a very rare and HUGE crystal of the species. I could ot believe it when I saw it, having thought a 1-cm crystal seen in the past was huge , already. This species is a very rare, seldom crystallized member of the sapphirine family of minerals. Because large CRYSTALLIZED examples of this extremely rare species were so important, confirmatory analysis was done by Dr. George Rossman at Caltech on these, when the first samples trickled out around the early 2000's with gem dealer Bill Larson. Likewise, I had a lucky find when I spotted this extremely ugly and dark crystal lurking in with beautiful spinel and ruby stones, at a gem dealer's booth in Tucson of 2011. It is about 25 carats, mass. It is well terminated. Interestingly, some crystals have been sold as gem rough (they are faintly translucent when cut) for the collectors of rare gemstones.Joe Budd Photos

TUC114-103 - Boracite (Type Locality) - $ 1800
Kalkberg hill, Luneburg, Lower Saxony, Germany
thumbnail, 1.2 x 1.1 x 0.9 cm

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ex. Robert Whitmore

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This is a remarkable and equant dodecahedron of boracite, complete all around, from the type locality! Good seafoam-blue/green color, good luster, and great form make this such a wonderful thumbnail! These are quite old and turn up now ONLY in old collections. The cutting rough value of the specimen, because of the size and color, is considerable at around $1000 wholesale just if you chop it into a gemstone. MINDAT.ORG info on the locality: "A small hill in the western suburb of L�neburg, formerly the site of a gypsum quarry famous among collectors in the 19th Century for its boracite crystals (type locality). Now a nature conservation park (digging prohibited!). Geologically the hill is a saltdome caprock, diapirically extruded so that it rises above the otherwise flat plains. Uplift continues at a rate of at least a millimeter per year" .Joe Budd Photos

TUC114-102 - Hessonite Garnet - $ 1950
Mana Mine, Barang, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Pakistan
small cabinet, 6.5 x 5.3 x 5 cm

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Crystals to 3 cm form a beautiful knoll of solid garnet here, complete all around but for only very minor contact points on a few minor crystals. These really bright, orangey-red garnets have been trickling out of Afghanistan now for the last year. Except�they really turn out to be from Pakistan! The color is phenomenal, but combined with the size�this is really exceptional stuff and we have not seen garnet like this from Pakistan or Afghanistan previously. Wine red spessartines, we have seen. But gemmy, colorful crystals like this, not common at all. I have never found a big stash of these for sale...just picked up a piece here or there from various German and native dealers. Although variously labelled grossular or spessartine, I am told fairly reliably that they are, in fact, hessonite garnets (see also J11-31 on this site).Joe Budd Photos

TUC114-099 - Heulandite - $ 950
Berufjordur, Iceland
small cabinet, 8.7 x 6 x 5 cm

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ex. Howard Belsky

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Extremely lustrous, vitreous, large heulandite crystals from this old classic locale. Specimens from here were some of the earliest and most desired zeolite species known to science, and were important classics in any collection of the 1800s and early 1900s. They are rarely seen today, and in any case Indian specimens of the same species are now available in overall larger size and with some color. But the look and style is a little different and the matrix is recognizable, on these old classics. The largest crystals here are about 2.5 cm across.Joe Budd Photos

TUC114-097 - Tourmaline - $ 2100
Tourmaline Queen Mine, San Diego County, California, USA
small cabinet, 5.8 x 1.5 x 1.7 cm

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ex. Klaus Neumann

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An intense crystal with HOT PINK color, just flaming bright and more "neon" than Himalaya Mine produced by a slight bit. Atop, it is capped by a clear zone topped by several millimeters of intense blue (when viewed from the side). The piece has extraordinary glassy lustre and is complete all around! This is old material, and crystals with such color saturation are hard to obtain today. From the well-known tourmaline collection of Klaus Neumann. 32 grams. Also, this was formerly in the F John Barlow Collection (dispersed in 1998).Joe Budd Photos

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page 1 / 7 - 104 specimens selected - next - top - back to the Galleries

Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com

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