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"THE VAULT!"
This is a special section of the website dedicated to very significant, admittedly pricier, specimens in context. Please click here for a more full explanation and for some comments on high-end minerals as investments.



OLDER SPECIMEN UPDATES PRIOR TO mid-2009:
COMING SOON: NEW THEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF GALLERY LISTINGS!
FOR NOW, ALL OLD LISTINGS ARE ARRANGED BY DATE, ONLY
OLD FIND OF VIVIANITE...from FLORIDA!:
15 May 2009 08:00:00 CDT
In the mid-1980s, a small Florida quarry produced some very fine gem vivianite crystals, but few were ever seen on the market. We purchased, last year, most of the mine geologists stash and present it here. Fascinating and unusual phosphate crystals, from Florida.
EXPANDED NEW MIXED UPDATE!:
01 May 2009 08:00:00 CDT
Here are about 25 specimens from 2 friends' European collections. One is a suite of very different tourmalines, from San Diego and Russian localities. The other suite features choice deaccessions from a friend's collection in Europe, including several important old classics I was surprised he let me pull out for sale
HISTORIC US CLASSICS:
13 Apr 2009 08:00:00 CDT
I have been saving up the occasional interesting specimen from different lots and collections for 2 years now, to make a special update from them. I finally have posted a selection from this stash, including lots of rare classics from the noted collections of Ken Hollman, Phil Scalisi, George Elling, Ed David, and others.
new from TUCSON!:
07 Apr 2009 08:00:00 CDT
I picked a few dozen of the most special out of several hundred mixed specimens I purchased at Tucson, to lead our annual post-show mixed updates. Many good Quartz here, in particular!
NEW FIND - lustrous ACANTHITE from MOROCCO:
24 Mar 2009 08:00:00 CDT
Although acanthite has trickled out of Morocco for several years now, this particular pocket found last summer has surprising lustre and unusually elegant crystallography, making these pieces my favorites yet from this new contemporary source for world-class acanthite (at prices quite reasonable in context to older locales, I felt).
NEW FIND - SILVER from an ancient mine in SPAIN:
24 Mar 2009 08:00:00 CDT
A surprising rediscovery of classic old wire and crystalline silver from this ancient mining district.
NEW FIND -SUPERB RAMSDELLITE CRYSTALS from ARIZONA:
03 Mar 2009 08:00:00 CDT
A surprising rediscovery of well-crystallized ramsdellite with unusually high lustre, from an old locality I thought long defunct.
NEW FROM TUCSON - Red and Pink Olmiite: a new species from South Africa!
27 Feb 2009 08:00:00 CDT
One of the few really new, exciting finds of any quantity at Munich 2008 and then, in more fullness, at Tucson 2009, was of these beautiful specimens of a new species: Olmiite! I am hesitant to say explicitly that this is an update of a "new find of a rarity" because the assumption is they might be ugly...far from it...My lot was carefully cherrypicked from the new pocket while it was still en route to the show, for quality of lustre, color, and condition.
NEW VIDEO: KIDS COLLECTING in PALA PEGMATITES!
25 Feb 2009 08:00:00 CDT
An outstanding new program for the next generation of mineral collectors! And one long overdue, in my opinion. Filmed on location at the OceanView Mine and the Pala Chief Mine, these kids get an exciting taste of true field collecting in one of the most famous gem and mineral-producing areas in North America. I am proud to be a financial sponsor of this project.
NEW FROM TUCSON: RUBY & SAPPHIRE from TANZANIA
24 Feb 2009 08:00:00 CDT
A surprise from Tanzania, beautiful rubies and ruby/sapphire combo crystals with incredibly sharp form and lustrous faces, really unprecedented for specimen quality ruby crystals in general. These set a new standard, and are sure to become modern classics!
NEW FROM TUCSON: COPPER & CUPRITE from RUSSIA
24 Feb 2009 08:00:00 CDT
Startling new coppers with exquisite crystallization, from a remote Russian localitynear the border with Kazakhstan.
NEW FROM TUCSON: RARE SPECIES
24 Feb 2009 08:00:00 CDT
A large mixed update (2 pages), with 40 specimens of rare species and their type localities: in general, things not seldom seen on the market; and that do not rhyme with "tourmaline" or "aquamarine". A very neat mix, I am proud to say! It takes a lot longer to find and work this kind of thing up, too...
NEW FROM TUCSON: CLASSIC RARITIES OF the KATANGA COPPER/URANIUM BELT
24 Feb 2009 08:00:00 CDT
A selection of 20 specimens of mixed radioactive rarities from former Zaire, from a major systematic European collection
NEW FIND: ADAMITE from MEXICO!
02 Dec 2008 08:00:00 CDT
NEW FLUORITE from SOUTH AFRICA!
20 Nov 2008 08:00:00 CDT
There were not a lot of new finds from this part of the world at Munich this year, but two stood out to me and I purchased about a half dozen of each. Here you will see a new find of tarbuttite in unusual habit from the Skorpion Mine in Namibia, some associated with the new species Skorpionite; and a startling new find of braunite with unusual crystallography.
NEW WULFENITE crystals from MAPIMI!
24 Oct 2008 08:00:00 CDT
Beautiful butterscotch-orange wulfenites from Mapimi, showing unusual robust "square and rectangle-like" pseudocubic crystallography. These specimens are a striking complement to a previous find here in January, of unusual bipyramidal crystals.
OLD EUROPEAN CLASSICS COLLECTION! - 60 specimens on 2 PAGES now ADDED !
14 Oct 2008 08:00:00 CDT
This is the 2nd batch of a 3-part update consisting of several hundred specimens from an "old classics locality collection" assembled mostly between 1890-1925, in Germany. Updates like this take a LOT OF TIME and research, but boy , is it fun to do. I feel like I am digging through buried treasure when collections like this turn up, and I learn something as well while doing so.
FLUORITE phantoms from Namibia!
08 Oct 2008 08:00:00 CDT
A new find of beautiful fluorites, priced $50-1800
NEW FIND: HELVITE - China!
24 Sep 2008 08:00:00 CDT
World class crystals of this rarity, from the spessartine mines in Fujian, China. Who knew?!
NEW FIND: MATRIX SPESSARTINE GARNET from Tanzania!
22 Sep 2008 08:00:00 CDT
Stunning sharp golfball-shaped crystals, now coming out in matrix from lower layers of the same deposit which produced freefloating crystals for the Tucson show 7 months ago!
NEW FIND: WORLD-CLASS NIFONTOVITE, a rarity from Mexico!
04 Sep 2008 08:00:00 CDT
For the first time in some 70 years, gem crystals of nifontovite were found in Charcas recently! The last reported find of crystallized nifontovite larger than microcrystalline size was by Dr. Fred Pough, in the 1940s, who obtained while at the site a single superb larger crystal (now in the Smithsonian collection) and a few little shards for analysis. These gorgeous gem crystals are the pick of the new lot: WATER-CLEAR and clean, with glassy lustre - they are much brighter in person due to the difficulty of shooting something so clean, gemmy and reflective. So far as I know, this update represents over 90% of the specimens found that were sharp and well terminated. IN PERSON, THESE ARE SO GEMMY, AND SO TRANSPARENT, AND SO COLORLESS THAT THE CAMERA HAS TROUBLE FOCUSING - THEY ARE MUCH BETTER IN PERSON! By way of emphasis, here is what the material normally looks like: MINDAT photos: http://www.mindat.org/gallery.php?min=2902
Charlie Key Oranje River Quartz Collection !
04 Sep 2008 08:00:00 CDT
The Oranje River area of Namibia has produced, in a trickle over many years, a small flow of really unusual quartz specimens, many included and colored by hematite. This is an interesting and diverse selection from the private Quartz collection of dealer Charlie (Locke) Key, after whom the Tsumeb minerals Keyite and Ludlockite are named. Charlie was the pre-eminent Namibian dealer for 20 years and more and remains active today as well. We purchased his collection some time ago and are releasing it in stages: Here is the bulk of his 20-year collection of Oranje River Quartz, as displayed at the Tucson 2007 Mineral show.
NEW FIND: PYROLUSITE from NEW MEXICO !
05 Aug 2008 08:00:00 CDT
A truly surprising find of pyrolusite crystals of high quality, from New Mexico. I had seen some of these from time to time in old collections, but not in recent years - apparently the old locale has been rediscovered and a single large pocket was found just a week before the Tucson show.
NEW FIND: MALACHITE PSEUDOMORPHS from SONORA!
25 Jul 2008 08:00:00 CDT
Although some (usually smaller) malachite pseudos have trickled out with the recent finds of azurite at this new copper specimen locality since fall of 2007, this is the first really large pocket of uniformly good malachite plates I have seen. Many feature robust crystals of 1.5-2 cm forming floater clusters, and have a rich velvety color to them reminiscent of classic old pieces from Tsumeb (but at a lot cheaper prices, given the pricing on Tsumeb minerals since the mine closed!). I picked up the whole pocket directly from the source, who pulled an allnighter to drive them up to the US a few weeks ago.
RARE ANTIQUE MINERALOGY BOOKS - SUMMER SALE!
15 Jun 2008 08:00:00 CDT
A selection of interesting and rare old mineralogy books from the private collection of Herb Obodda. SUMMER SALE - 33% OFF MARKED PRICES
DEACCESSIONS FROM THE RICHARD KOSNAR COLLECTION
27 May 2008 08:00:00 CDT
This update contains 2 dozen specimens from the collection and dealer stock of the multigenerational Kosnar family of mineral dealers, including several choice old classics from the collection of the late Richard A. Kosnar.
NEW FIND: SCORODITE from CHINA!
22 May 2008 08:00:00 CDT
A shocking, completely surprising, out-of-the blue find from China! This new find will esepcially please people who could have never expected to own a visually fine, significant scorodite specimen given their scarcity and pricing on the market. Such finds, that literally redefine the standard obtainable for the modern collector of a species that came traditionally from defunct localities , simply do not appear often. But they do happen, and usually come and go and themselves become classics down the road.
SPESSARTINE GARNET from TANZANIA! - NOW POSTED: new THUMBNAILS, priced $100-up
18 Apr 2008 08:00:00 CDT
An unprecedented find of razor-sharp, translucent to transparent, red and orange garnet crystals from Tanzania, the biggest surprise of this year's Tucson show! These crystals were found in a surface deposit on Maasai Land near the national park, and were all dug between december and january, redefining what you can expect in Garnet floaters! Selections from $200-on up!
BIPYRAMIDAL WULFENITE crystals from MAPIMI!
13 Apr 2008 08:00:00 CDT
A shocking find out of Mapimi, which has been "boring" for nearly 20 years otherwise. These wulfenites are not only locality specimens of note, but have a radically different crystal form than most other wulfenites.
HAUCK QUARTZ COLLECTION! - preTucson update for web customers!
02 Feb 2008 08:00:00 CDT
Quartz from the Copper collection of Richard Hauck. Most have old labels or are clearly historic pieces!
HAUCK COPPER COLLECTION! - preTucson update for web customers!
02 Feb 2008 08:00:00 CDT
Copper from the collection of Richard Hauck.
HAUCK HISTORIC LOCALITY COLLECTION! - preTucson update for web customers!
02 Feb 2008 08:00:00 CDT
Specimens from historic localities from the collection of Richard Hauck.
MEXICAN AZURITE - new find!
09 Jan 2008 08:00:00 CDT
I have closely been following a new azurite locality in Sonora since the Denver show, which has produced mind-numbing azurite that at its best rivals and in some ways (such as price) is better than the best of Tsumeb!
HAROLD URISH COLLECTION!
14 Dec 2007 08:00:00 CDT
50 specimens posted from the collection of Harold Urish of Tucson, Arizona. This is a teaser of the more than 500 to come, for Tucson 2008, at our show locations
Naica Fluorite
07 Nov 2007 08:00:00 CDT
Specimens from Naica tapered off after the 1980's, and this is the first big new find of classic bevelled fluorites (some cuboctohedral or dodecahedral) from there I have seen in 15 years!

NEW SPECIMENS POSTED FROM A POCKET HIT IN OCTOBER! I almost took these to Munich but instead left them home to give the web 1st dibs...

NEW FINDS: SPECIMEN-GRADE LEPIDOLITE XLS!
08 Nov 2007 08:00:00 CDT
Specimen-grade finds of Lepidolite from two very different places, both in such bizarre styles and form I was honestly surprised to see them! In particular, the Brazilian find here sets a new standard and a novel color for the species as a mineral worth adding to display-quality collections! NEW SPECIMENS ADDED and prices reduced on the previously-posted purple Afghani pieces.
NEW FROM DENVER - ROUND FLUORITES from CHINA!
01 Nov 2007 08:00:00 CDT
A few of these trickled out of China during the Tucson show, and now we have a small further batch. Unlike many other finds from China, especially when new fluorite mines are hit, this particular material seems to be sparse in abundance and has been hard for me to obtain specimens of.
CHUCK HOUSER SAN DIEGO COLLECTION!
01 Sep 2007 08:00:00 CDT
A wonderful San Diego County collection assembled by a friend of mine, Chuck Houser, over many decades of collecting, culling, and wheeling-and-dealing. This is the core collection, though I have sold culls and exchanged items from him in the past through this site.
Selections from the WENDELL WILSON THUMBNAIL COLLECTIONS
15 Jun 2007 08:00:00 CDT
NEW FIND: PENNSYLVANIA WAVELLITE!
16 May 2007 08:00:00 CDT
A new find in nearly its entirety, of unusual wavellite ...colorful new material for the East Coast!
CHARLIE KEY COLLECTION - NEWLY UPDATED!
26 Apr 2007 08:00:00 CDT
NOW POSTED: 100-plus new Kalahari Fields Specimens: Hundreds of minerals will be eventually posted from this famous collection! We purchased, in partnership with collectors Marshall and Charlotte Sussman, the 6000-plus piece collection of African adventurer and mineral dealer Charles Key, after whom the minerals Ludlockite and Keyite are named. (Click HERE to go to the Key collection index page).
NEW FINDS & CLASSICS from INDIA
26 Mar 2007 08:00:00 CDT
Each year I start saving up Indian minerals cherrypicked from new finds of the previous summer onwards, add to the stash at Tucson bit by bit by choosing from the stock of several suppliers over the course of many visits, and then blow them out all at once as an update of new finds for the last 8 months or so. This 100-piece update includes among the traditional classic Indian material, new finds of striking RED STILBITE; and much of a novel pocket of new APOPHYLLITE that are generally upright, freestanding, and feature unusually stark, planar terminations. I bought well this year...most everything here is priced under $1500 with a few exceptions!
NEW FINDS- CHINA WULFENITE!
13 Feb 2007 08:00:00 CDT
Presenting a wide selection (the largest, I would think...) of specimens from the best wulfenite yet found in China. Wulfenite seems rare there, for some reason. These specimens were found and hoarded over the last 3 years from a new locality in the remote northern areas of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and only recently were the best released for sale. I think I have the majority of the lot, and many of the better pieces, as noted in the recent Mineralogical Record, China II issue! Some specimens were hand-delivered to me before the show, which made the journal. These others are newly arrived and fresh to the market.

Click here to go to :
MINERALOGICAL RECORD ARTICLE ON THE NEW WULFENITE!
That takes you to the Record's website Contents page, where you should next click on "Online Journal-Axis,". The Red Wulfenite article is listed there first.

NEW FIND: WORLD-CLASS AUGELITES from PERU!
26 Sep 2006 08:00:00 CDT
Quite possibly the world's best of species, from an unlikely new locality for augelite!
NEW FIND! SPINEL-TWINNED COPPERS from NEW MEXICO
07 Sep 2006 08:00:00 CDT
Copper specimens of novel habit for the mine, and the state! These are reminiscent of old Ray Mine material! I bought the wholefind...


ALPHABETICAL LINKS BY SPECIES!:

THIS LINK WILL TAKE YOU TO AN ALPHABETICAL LIST BY SPECIES, MIRRORING THE CONTENTS OF THE SEARCH ENGINE IN LIST FORM.


CUSTOM LUCITE BASEMAKING SERVICE !
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Obtain a custom lucite base hand-carved to solidly and safely display any specimen:

Our plastics lab can make you custom specimen display bases to better show, and more safely display, your collection.
This includes name-engraving upon the front.

Click here for an example, and Click here for a Base Price Guide



Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com

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