We have all seen a lot of carrollites from the glory hole finds of around 2000-2002, and a few trickling out later. However, this piece for me has ALWAYS been one of my very favorites, since the day I first bought it from the Gobin brothers in Tucson before the show opened, in 2001. I sold it immediately to Ed David, in whose collection it remained until recently. There were larger crystals (then, not available now still). There were more exposed crystals. But there were VERY few crystals of such mesmerizing surface detail, and of this sharp octohedral habit, even amongst the whole breadth of the find. Of those few, this was the best in the size range available at the time and it remains one I always compare other examples of the species to. It is decidedly unusual, as most people consider a more complex crystal to be the sterotypic habit. Yet it is this unusual simplicity of the overall form, combined with subtle complexity on the faces and bevelled edges, that makes this unique and special even amongst the relatively few larger crystals. Moreover, very few specimens, probably only a few dozen in all, had this level of quality and were perched without repair in accenting calcite matrix. So, overall, I feel that this is one of those specimens that has the qualities of superb examples of its species; but enough individuality to also stand on its own merits as something so far off the normal spectrum as to be in its own category for desirability. I have hoarded it away since I bought the Ed David collection in 2006, and this is its first time presented for sale. Joe Budd photos

From finds in 2007-2008, this is a really superb small cabinet piece featuring three crystals laid next to each other, with minor accenting celestine. The piece is complete and 3-dimensional all around, except for some very minor edge wear on the back. Most of these specimens have contact problems, from how they were recovered and chopped out of the surrounding rocks. This, however, is in unusually good condition for the size and style. This material is HIGHLY fluorescent, a ghostly blue-white color under UV light. Moreover, it phosphoresces strongly as well, after the light is removed. Joe Budd photos

An unusual specimen with a surprisingly rectangular-looking pink kunzite frozen in bladed cleavelandite matrix at the base of a sharp prismatic quartz crystal. The contrast of shape is really appealing, visually. Small green tourmalines anchor the kunzite to the quartz like spider webs, in the crevasse between them. The kunzite crystal is 6 x 5 x 1.8 cm. It is fully terminated on the viewing side, unusually flat and straight on its edge as opposed to the normally jagged or pointy termination you would expect. It is strange, but totally natural. The rear termination of the kunzite seems to be contacted where it grew against something else, not broken, per se Overall, just a very unusual piece! Joe Budd photos

Here is a highly unusual azurite specimen! I have seen literally a thousand azurites from Tsumeb and yet not another like this. At first glance, it looks organic. The lustre is werid - almost melted looking, it is so smooth and polished in appearance. The crystals are a very dark blue, almsot black. Yet , overall, with the combination of a sculptural look and the lustre, the piece is surprisingly attractive. The periphery is good: complete and crystallized except for a few minor contacts, all the way around. In fact, it look sequally elegant horizontally or vertically displayed. On the backside are unusual , acicular, tiny crystals of primary malachite. So overall the piece is as close to a floater as you can reasonably expect, especially for a cabinet sized azurite! This wsa formerly in the Keith Proctor Collection, and then the Ed David collection . Joe Budd photos

Boleite, for its sharp blue cubes and weird silver chemistry, is one of those oddball mineral species that just seems "fake" when you look at them. How can a silver species be blue, and sharply cubic like this, and only come from one place in the world in such quality?! This remarkable large display-sized boleite specimen is something you do not see every day. Al Ordway, the previous owner, got it in turn directly from Ed Swoboda (who is in his 90s now) after the famous find in 1976. This matrix is stabilized on most specimens from that find but NOT on this piece! This piece, in contrast to darn near all the boleite matrix pieces out there, has solid, real matrix and not dried kaolin clay (like mud). The crystals are NOT glued in . These crystals reach 6 mm and there are a lot of them scattered about. Overall, an important and relatively large, display specimen of this very rare silver species. ex Al Ordway collection. Joe Budd photos

These old Japanese quartzes from which Japan law twinning was described initially, are classics of the late 1800s and early 1900s, rarely seen for sale in sizable specimens of quality today! This is an exceptionally large and complete specimen with no significant damage (only a few small and trivial dings). It is a superbly aesthetic, dramatic piece for Japan, with elegant display qualities you would wish in a contemporary quartz but seldom see in the really old pieces. Given this, and the historic importance of the piece, I think the specimen stands on its own merits with the history as a bonus to the value and the collector. I have had similar old pieces, though smalle rand not in as good a shape, reliably dated to 1914, though it probably came to that owner already in an old collection (as these came out even in the late 1800s). Courtesy of Alfredo Petrov: "mura" means village, "Kai" is now Yamanashi, so the label can be deciphered to be: Miyamoto village in Yamanashi Prefecture. Joe Budd photos

This is a fat, squat crystal of tourmaline exhibiting a rare blue cap termination.In fact, it is purple and blue, with really nice color patterns that are more subtle in person than they appear in photos. The crystal is remarkably gemmy and transslucent for one so fat in width. It is complete alla round, with all sides lustrous and capped by the matte surface on top. The matrix is purple, sparkling lepidolite and an attached, partial tourmaline crystal (that side crystal is broken, but was broken in situ long ago and is not a fresh break). It is extremely rare to see these come back on the market now, as they all came out in a trickle some time ago, from just a few pockets (as i recall, mostly between 2000-2005). Joe Budd photos

This important large specimen features a 12-cm-long doubly-terminated, gem crystal on top! That crystal is RAZOR sharp, literally. It is extremely translucent and has the best lively brown color when backlit, not too dark as many are. The piece is nearly pristine all around, with just a small bit of contact or damage in back (and not on the main crystal). The way the matrix balances and contrasts, is also unusual as most large axinites are simply masses of axinite with little matrix to offset the crystals. This is a rarified, large piece from the mining in the 1980s heyday here. It was in the Ed David collection in the 1990s, and then the Marc Weill collection in the early 2000's. I think such a piece is simply not out there on the modern market. Joe Budd photos