This specimen is one of the most elegant examples I have seen in a long time, from the famous early 1980s finds at the New Nevada Mine in the old Batopilas silver District. These specimens were brought to market by John Whitmire at the time. Steven Sinotte was a collector and part-time dealer at the old Desert Inn when they came out, and obtained this for his collection in the early picks. It is elegantly balanced, on just the right amount of calcite matrix pedestal. It shows a CLASSIC, and very fine, herringbone pattern of crystallized spinel-twinned silver crystals interlinked with one another. The crystal cluster is robust, not fragile and "bendy" as are so many from these finds (particularly from silvers found a few years later). This specimen was pictured in the Mineralogical Record article on the find, in 1982: Mineralogical Record vol 12, May-June, page 178, figure 6. It has remained in his collection, and that of his wife, noted glassmaker Rebecca Stewart, ever since a few weeks after it was mined in the early 1980s. Comes with a lucite base for custom display

An exceptional gold for this locality in terms of brightness. This is a tall, elogated, very elegant specimen that has a sparkling pizzazz to it, more than commonly seen from this deposit. The crystals are bright, like gold foil, and the intricacy of the gold "meshwork" contrasts with the elegant form that seems simple from far away, such that the piece is just better and better the more you look at it. This is my personal favorite style for an Eagle's Nest gold, and in person it just radiates color.

An EXCEPTIONALLY sharp, robust, crystallized gold dating from the noted finds here of the mid-2000s. Now, the mine is not in the crystallized zone again and these have become quite rare - although this would have been a choice miniature even when they were, briefly. available. The crystal is sharp, and complete on both sides, with such a robust and unique style that these are immediately recognizable as from no other locality seen to date. I value this particular style from the mine above most others, as these long, steeply terminated crystals are so unique. ex Gene Meieran Collection

The Champion Mine coppers are quite distinct among worldwide coppers, as you can see here from the style of copper shown. The copper crystals are twinned, and thickly intergrown like in a weaving, all supporting the others to make for a robust, skyscraper-bones-like cluster. A slight cuprite patina gives this one its typical reddish color. To the copper-lover, the Champion Mine pieces (such as this one) are absolutely distinct and recognizable. They seldom turn up for sale, only in old collections . This is aparticularly gracile-looking and attrractive example with its original patina, whereas many have been acid-cleaned over the years to make them in my opinion, too bright.

This piece is a rare crystallized gold from the old Victorian goldfields. It shows a large, robust, 3-dimensional crystal atop a nugget base. Such pieces are rarely found, and always went for a premium even before the spike in gold prices simply based upon weight. This specimen stands out from a crowd of pancake-like and rolled nuggets from the region and really presents dramatically when stood up on a custom base. Crystals of this size are rare for gold of ANY locality, but all the more scarce here where so much of the gold was eroded and stream-worn before settling into this deposit tens of millions of years ago. It is, overall, a very unique specimen from the Victoria goldfields, and from the noted collection of Matthew Webb of Melbourne. 200 grams

A rare Chinese gold nugget, sharp and complete on both sides, and all around. Mass is 52 grams

This cluster of parallel growth tanzanite crystals is dramatic and sculptural. Natural tanzanite shows 2 colors - blue and purple on axes of view rotated 90-degrees from each other in the horizontal plane. Much material also shows a third color, from brown to red, running up the c-axis when lit from below (vertically). This specimen is somewhat unusual in that it shows purple faces on the broadest, front-facing display side. For whatever reason, these crystals normally show blue on front and purple to the sides, as we would display most specimens. I do not know why this is so, but there you have it - and so, the purple oriented forward is somewhat rare, and makes the piece stand out. When it is lit straight from behind , you see primarily purple with some bleed of blue from the other horizontal axis of color, and some red seeping in from the vertical color axis of tanzanite. From the side, the piece has intense blue color in the tops of the crystals, though the body is partly saturated with red and brown hues which are reflected out of the c-axis. The luster is glassy and the mountain-like form of the piece makes it impressive, and more complex to the eye than the traditional tanzanite "single crystal aesthetic" we mostly see from here. The crystal mass is 112 grams

An intricate, very complex cluster of intergrown gold crystals, all of them sharp and lustrous. These are just gorgeous,m and superbly sharp, much more full of depth in person. Unusually thick aggregate of this style, from the modern find sat this locality (mid-2000s). Ex Gene Meieran collection, purchased at the time of the find for $10,000 from one of the first lots brought to Tucson that year (retains label), and exchanged out to me last year. approx 1.5 ounces of sharply crystallized gold octohedra make this dense cluster a classic miniature for the Round Mountain locale, very distinct from gold at other locations in the US

A large, solid specimen of pure native silver, with very bright and sharp crystals flaring from the top of the specimen like flames. It is dramatic in person! This piece is complete on both sides. It masses 137 grams. Most such specimens are old pieces from the heyday of the distract, mid 1800s to early 1900s, though sadly there is no way now to be sure when this came out. It is said to be from the Cliff mine, by attribution to style and habit. ex Ed David collection

A superb, very sharp gold specimen that is entirely composed of elongated gold crystals, grown together. It looks rather like classic silver twinned crystals, from Batopilas, cast in 24-karat gold. The piece is sharp and complete all around, with a gorgeous luster and a very pure golden yellow color. It was noted in the book on the F John Barlow Collection (1998). In fact, it is illustrated on page 183 of that book

A VERY UNUSUAL, sharply crystalllized Russian gold nugget from this classic locale. It shows sharp form, and not the usual nuggety or water-worn look of most Russian gold from this old classic location. From the gold collection of F. John Barlow, sold off in 1999. Mass is 14 grams.

A superb example of this now-infamous find, from approx. 2005. This specimen went directly to the Ed David collection, at the time. It is a superior example and perhaps the best of the thumbnail-sized examples from this find. It is thought that only a few dozens of good thumbnails were recovered, and only a handful of larger specimens. At the time, there was a lot of "interest" in the gold, and miners flocked to the site. Today, the find remains unique and specimens are hard to obtain. Complete all around, this is a 3-dimensional and robust specimen!

A very elegant cluster of crystallized gold in the shape of intergrown spinel twins, from the classic gold nugget fields of Western Australia. Mass is 34 grams. Rare in such form, this is elegant and a gorgeous piece on its own right, but it is more valuable for its crystallization compared to an equally weighty rounded nugget from the locale